A wire moves one specific amount from the sender's bank to the receiver's bank as an individual instruction, which is what separates it from ACH, where payments are grouped into batches and settled in cycles. Inside the United States wires run over Fedwire and usually land the same business day, which is why accounts-payable teams use them for large or time-sensitive payments.
SWIFT is not a wire and does not move money. It is the messaging network banks use to send each other standardised payment instructions. When the sender's bank and your bank have no direct account relationship, the money itself travels through one or more correspondent banks that do. Those links, not the SWIFT network, are where the delays and the deductions come from, and it is why a sender can see a payment as sent while the receiver waits several business days for it.
Who pays the charges along the route is set by the sender in the payment itself, with one of three codes. OUR means the sender pays every bank's charges. SHA means the sender pays their own bank, and the intermediary and receiving bank charges come out of the amount. BEN means all charges come out of the amount the beneficiary receives. Many banks send SHA by default, which is the usual reason a wire arrives short of the invoice.
A worked example, with a stated assumption: a client sends 1,000 USD with the SHA code and one correspondent bank sits on the route. The correspondent deducts its charge from the amount, then your bank may charge for crediting an incoming wire, if its tariff has such a fee. You receive 1,000 USD less both charges, and nobody tells you their size in advance. With OUR the same payment should arrive in full, although individual banks on the route sometimes still take a fee. The actual amounts depend on the banks involved and are set in their own tariffs, so there is no single figure that applies to every wire.
If a client pays you by international wire directly, three things are in your hands. Give complete details: the account holder name exactly as your bank holds it, the account number or IBAN, your bank's SWIFT/BIC, and an intermediary bank if your bank requires one for that currency. Ask for the OUR code if the full amount has to arrive. And expect your bank to ask for the contract or invoice behind the payment: a vague payment reference such as "services" is a common trigger. The usual reasons a wire is returned to the sender are a beneficiary name that does not match the bank's records, a wrong account number and a missing intermediary bank.
If the client is a company that would rather pay a US supplier than send a foreign wire, you can skip this route entirely. With PANORAMA payments the client pays a US company by ordinary domestic ACH or wire, and you are paid out on a rail available in your country, shown before you register. There is one platform fee: 10% of each paid invoice, 7% with a partner or promotional code. The payout calculator shows what reaches you on each payout method, and how you get paid walks through the whole chain.
Is a wire transfer the same as a SWIFT payment?
No. The wire is the payment itself; SWIFT is the network banks use to send each other the instruction for it. Most international wires use SWIFT messages, which is why the terms travel together, but the money moves through the banks' correspondent accounts, not through the SWIFT network.
Why did less money arrive than was sent by wire?
Usually because the payment was sent with the SHA or BEN code, so intermediary banks and your own bank took their charges out of the amount. Your bank statement shows what was deducted; ask the sender to use the OUR code next time.
How long does an international wire take?
Typically one to several business days. It depends on how many correspondent banks are on the route, on time zones and cut-off times, and on whether your bank asks for documents about the payment before crediting it.
How do I trace a SWIFT payment that has not arrived?
Ask the sender for the payment confirmation from their bank, with the payment reference (an MT103 or its equivalent in the newer ISO 20022 format) and the unique transaction reference. Your bank can use that document to locate the payment along the chain. Without it, a support request usually turns into a discussion about whether the payment was sent at all.
Does a domestic US wire go through SWIFT?
No. A wire between two US banks runs over Fedwire and rarely involves an intermediary, which is why it is faster and its cost more predictable than an international one.