International Money Transfer Terms
If you are going to start transferring funds from one country to another, it is important to learn the key terms and words used in international money transfer.
This should save you time as well as money when it comes to finding the cheapest money transfer services. It will also help you avoid being conned by unscrupulous internet money transfer companies.
IBAN
IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. The IBAN identifies the account number of the parties. This helps in avoiding possible mistakes when transferring large amounts of cash from one person to the other.
Companies dealing with international money transfers are very exact and are eager to change one currency against the other as fast as they possibly can, to complete the deal and show their clients how smoothly and quickly they perform.
The IBAN will be provided by your bank. You will then provide your IBAN number to whoever wishes to send funds to you.
BIC
The bank identification code BIC is another abbreviation, which you will come across.
BIC is a way of being able to identify financial institutions so that the process of telecommunication in financial institutions/banks is facilitated.
SWIFT
SWIFT stands for Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication.
This society offers secure financial messaging services all over the world. It is a very fast and safe money transfer method. This is the preferred service used by financial institutions to exchange foreign currency.
You will be provided with a SWIFT number by your bank when you need to have a bank wire sent.
PIN or PASSWORD
For those who use money transfer services such as Western Union or Moneygram, you are likely going to have to supply a pin, password or passphrase.
You will create the secret word or sentence, which will be used to identify the actual recipient of your money. Your funds will not be withdrawn until the right pin is supplied. You will therefore have to provide your recipient with the correct password.
The good thing about international money transfer is that it is easy to learn and use. You do not need to go back to school to know how to transfer money internationally.