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Wire Transfers

Included on this page:

Wire Payment Conditions

Payment by wire transfer is negotiated at the time the order is placed by the Purchasing Department.

Requests from the vendor for payment by wire transfer are not honored unless prior arrangements were made at the time the contract or order was placed.

Payment by wire may not be best method of payment because :
  • It can take up to 2 weeks to reach its destination
  • U.S. (domestic) payments are more costly to the department to send via wire than a paper check sent by express mail
  • There is no payment tracking in the UW Purchasing & Accounting System (PAS)
  • The department must communicate approval of a wire transfer to Accounts Payable and Purchasing. The department is als responsible for accepting all fees and risks associated with the payment.

Other payment alternatives are the ProCard or the Corporate Travel Card (for travel related expenses only) for both domestic and foreign payments.

In some cases, payment by wire may be the only option. This hold true for countries such as India, Africa, Russia, China and most third world countries. Funds sent by wire is less likely to be lost than payment by check sent by mail.

Approving a Wire

Note: The requesting department must note "Please wire funds" in the comments section of the PAS purchase requisition.

If the pay document is accompanied by an Invoice Voucher/Receiving Report, wire information must be included in the Detail Description field of the invoice voucher. Also note "Please wire funds" in the Special Instructions field.

If the vendor sends an invoice directly to Accounts Payable without an Invoice Voucher/Receiving Report, the vendor must include full wire information on the first page of the invoice in a prominent location. The department's approval of this request will be confirmed by checking the PAS purchase requisition. If the request to wire funds is not noted on the requisition the check will be mailed instead.

For payments that are not processed through the PAS purchase requisition (i.e. field advances, real estate, etc.), wires can be arranged by special request.
Please contact Accounts Payable at 206 543-4500 or email them at aphelp@u.

Necessary Wire Information

A wire request must include the following:

Foreign Bank
Domestic

Bank name and address

Bank name and address

International bank account number (IBAN)

Bank account number

Sort code or BSB (identifies the bank branch)

ABA (routing number of the bank)

Payee account name

Payee account name

Payee name and address

Payee name and address


Swift code (international bank identifier)

Reference Information such as PO, invoice number, etc

Reference Information such as PO, invoice number, etc

 

Wiring Foreign Currency

Invoice paid in a foreign currency is subject to the exchange rate, on the day the wire was sent. As a result, the amount encumbered on the requisition will not match the exact amount paid.

Fees

Type of Fee
Cost
and Additional Information

International wires

$ 25.00 per wire

Domestic wires

$ 10.00 per wire

Currency conversion fees

This is a service currently provided at no cost by our bank.
Rate changes may however result in a loss.

Wire returned for incomplete/incorrect information

This fee amount is determined by the receiving bank and will vary.
Re-sending the wire will result in an additional transaction charge.

Additional fees

These fees may be deducted by the beneficiary bank from the final amount sent to the payee.
The University of Washington has no control over these fees.

 

Risks

Risks my include but are not limited to the following: