Wire transfer

Wire Transfer
Banks use wire transfers as an expeditious method for transferring funds between bank
accounts. Wire transfers include transactions occurring within the national boundaries of a
country or from one country to another. As wire transfers do not involve actual movement of
currency, they are considered as rapid and secure method for transferring value

tracing their assets. The information can be used by Financial Intelligence Unit - India (FIUIND)
for analysing suspicious or unusual activity and disseminating it as necessary. The
originator information can also be put to use by the beneficiary bank to facilitate identification
and reporting of suspicious transactions to FIU-IND. Owing to the potential terrorist financing
threat posed by small wire transfers, the objective is to be in a position to trace all wire
transfers with minimum threshold limits. Accordingly, banks must ensure that all wire
transfers are accompanied by the following information:
1. Cross-border wire transfers
i) All cross-border wire transfers must be accompanied by accurate and
meaningful originator information.
ii) Information accompanying cross-border wire transfers must contain the name
and address of the originator and where an account exists, the number of that
account. In the absence of an account, a unique reference number, as
prevalent in the country concerned, must be included.
iii) Where several individual transfers from a single originator are bundled in a
batch file for transmission to beneficiaries in another country, they may be
exempted from including full originator information, provided they include the
originator’s account number or unique reference number as at (ii) above.
2. Domestic wire transfers
i) Information accompanying all domestic wire transfers of Rs.50000/- (Rupees
Fifty Thousand) and above must include complete originator information i.e.
name, address and account number etc., unless full originator information can
be made available to the beneficiary bank by other means.
ii) If a bank has reason to believe that a customer is intentionally structuring wire
transfer to below Rs. 50000/- (Rupees Fifty Thousand) to several beneficiaries
in order to avoid reporting or


monitoring, the bank must insist on complete customer identification before
effecting the transfer. In case of non-cooperation from the customer, efforts
should be made to establish his identity and Suspicious Transaction Report
(STR) should be made to FIU-IND.
bi) When a credit or debit card is used to effect money transfer, necessary
information as (i) above should be included in the message.
c) Exemptions
Interbank transfers and settlements where both the originator and beneficiary are banks or
financial institutions would be exempted from the above requirements.