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SWIFT (the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a network for sending and receiving international wire transfers. Global ACH (also called International ACH Transfer) is a method for moving money from US-domiciled accounts across borders using local rails. US companies moving money internationally will likely weigh the pros and cons of SWIFT vs. Global ACH when it comes to attributes like speed and cost.
What are the benefits of SWIFT?
Formed in 1973, SWIFT is a well-known and widely-utilized rail for moving money overseas. SWIFT network includes 11,000 member financial institutions and is the most well-established method for sending money internationally. The network does not transfer physical funds—instead, it provides a standardized way to issue payment orders via SWIFT codes.
Primary benefits include:
- SWIFT is a reliable, well-established rail. SWIFT is a trusted and well-understood method for moving money cross-border, with nearly 50 years in operation.
- SWIFT’s network is large and coverage is extensive. Offered in 200 countries and territories, with 26 offices around the world, SWIFT is widely available.
- Settlement is fast. SWIFT payments settle quickly—on average, settlement happens in 1-2 days.
While they offer speedier international transfers, SWIFT transactions are costly: between $20-$50 per transaction. Further, the exact dollar amount received by a SWIFT transfer payee can’t be fully guaranteed, since these transactions often pass through intermediary banks that may also charge a fee for handling the transaction.
Dig deeper into SWIFT vs. Global ACH in this eBook on winning with global payments.
What are the benefits of Global ACH?
Global ACH has recently emerged as an alternative to SWIFT. Run across rails including EFT in Canada, SEPA in Europe, BACS in the UK, and BECS in Australia, Global ACH payments can be settled in local currency using local bank accounts.
Global ACH offers business advantages to both companies looking to streamline existing cross-border payment flows and teams building new global products. Here are the primary benefits:
- Global ACH costs less. Five to seven times cheaper than SWIFT, on average depending on your bank partner, Global ACH is much less expensive.
- Payees know precisely how much they’ll receive. With Global ACH, there are no lifting or correspondent fees provided payments are initiated in USD and settled in local currency.
- Global compliance is managed by the bank. After underwriting by a domestic bank that offers Global ACH, cross-border compliance and security is managed by that bank (not your company).
Global ACH, like every payment method, has limitations. Currently, Global ACH is credit (or push) only. Payments settle more slowly than they do via SWIFT—coverage and support for Global ACH is also more limited.
When is SWIFT a good choice?
There are several instances when moving money via SWIFT makes sense:
- For companies sending large payments globally. SWIFT is also useful for payments to well-known counterparties (which may be recurring).
- When a recipient is not sensitive to fees. For large payments, SWIFT fees may feel relatively insubstantial to recipients.
- When speed is a higher-priority than cost.
When is Global ACH a good choice?
When deciding between SWIFT vs. Global ACH, the latter makes sense in the following instances:
- For companies performing a high volume of low-value payouts globally.
- When a recipient may be sensitive to fees. In these cases the reduction or elimination of fees can greatly improve customer satisfaction.
- When low cost is a higher priority than immediacy.
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Everything you need to know about the payment rails that power the world’s economy, from ACH and wires to RTP, FedNow, and more.
ACH credits and debits are two kinds of ACH transactions. Whereas a credit involves depositing, or “pushing,” funds into a bank account, for a debit, funds are withdrawn, or “pulled,” from an account.
The two kinds of financial institutions in the ACH network are ODFIs (Originating Depository Financial Institution) and RDFIs (Receiving Depository Financial Institutions).
US companies moving money internationally will likely weigh the pros and cons of SWIFT vs. Global ACH when it comes to attributes like speed and cost.
The Clearing House (TCH) is a banking association and payments company owned by 20 of the world’s largest commercial banks.
For business-to-business (B2B) companies, embedded payments integrate payment processing directly into software platforms
ACH (Automated Clearing House) is a payment processing network that facilitates electronic transfers between banks in the United States. It enables automated electronic debiting and crediting of checking and savings accounts. ACH payments work by batching transactions together, which are then processed at scheduled daily intervals.
A return is a credit or debit entry initiated by the Receiving Depository Financial Institution (RDFI) that returns a previously originated payment to the Originating Depository Financial Institution (ODFI).
ACH return codes identify the reason an ACH payment was returned by the recipient's bank. They make it easier to spot and resolve payment failures.
An ACH reversal refers to an erroneous ACH payment that a payment originator requests to take back, or reverse.
Payment rails are the underlying systems and networks that facilitate the movement of funds between parties in financial transactions.
Pix is Brazil’s instant payment platform that launched on November 16, 2020. Created and managed by the Central Bank of Brazil, Pix enables fast payments and transfers at any time, year-round.
A Standard Entry Class or SEC code is a three letter code that describes how a payment was authorized by the consumer or business receiving an ACH transaction.
A SWIFT code, also known as a SWIFT ID or Bank Identifier Code (BIC), is a unique 8-11 character code assigned to a bank for SWIFT wire transfers.
SWIFT payments or international wires are global payments made through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.
ACH (Automated Clearing House) is a payment processing network that’s used to send money electronically between banks and financial institutions in the United States.
The Clearing House Interbank Payments System, or CHIPS is the largest private sector USD clearing system for wire transfers.
Electronic check presentment (ECP) is the process of electronically submitting a check to a bank for payment.
An electronic funds transfer (EFT), also known as a direct deposit, is the digital transfer of money between bank accounts. As digital transfers, they reduce the need for manual input and paper documents.
FedACH is the automated clearing house (ACH) service of the Federal Reserve Banks.
Part of the FedACH system, FedGlobal ACH offers low-cost and efficient cross-border ACH payments.
FedNow is a new payment rail that enables faster bank payments for financial institutions of any size, in any community, 365 days of the year.
Fedwire Funds Services, commonly known as Fedwire, is a real-time gross settlement transfer system that allows participating financial institutions to send and receive same-day fund transfers.
Fiat money is a form of currency issued by a government and declared legal tender, though not backed by a commodity.
Global ACH can help companies move money from US-domiciled accounts across borders using local rails. Learn how and when to use this payment rail.
The National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) is a centralized payment system that facilitates transfers between certain bank accounts across India.
The National Automated Clearing House Association (Nacha) is responsible for overseeing the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network, which is used to send money electronically between banks throughout the United States.
RTP (Real-Time Payments) is a payment processing network used to send money electronically between banks in the United States. It transfers funds between two bank accounts instantaneously and is available year round.
A Request for Payment (RFP) is an ACH Network message that can be used by businesses to send electronic invoices to their customers.
Same-Day ACH is an improvement to the ACH network that allows the processing of credit, debit, and return transactions several times a day.
Wire fraud is a serious criminal offense that uses electronic or interstate communications methods to defraud someone out of money or property.
A take rate refers to the fees online marketplaces (such as Amazon or eBay) or third-party service providers (such as PayPal) collect for enabling third-party transactions.
A wire transfer is an electronic payment made through a global network, allowing for fast, irreversible, foreign or domestic electronic money transfers.
ACH APIs enable companies with high transaction volumes to write software that automates payments over the ACH network.
An ACH credit refers to the process of electronically depositing, or “pushing,” funds into a bank account using ACH.
In an ACH debit, funds are electronically withdrawn, or “pulled,” from a bank account using ACH.
A Notification of Change (NOC) is used to notify the sender of an ACH payment to correct or change information related to a customer’s bank account.
A pre note or prenotification is a zero dollar payment to validate the account and routing details of a bank account before debiting or crediting it.
An International ACH Transfer—also known as Global ACH—is an ACH payment made cross-border from a US-domiciled account.
The issuer identification number (IIN) is the first eight or nine digits on a payment card tied to the financial institution that issued the card.
Originally known as Bankers’ Automated Clearing System (BACS), BACS Payment Schemes Limited clears and settles direct debit, BACS direct credit, and current account switch service in the United Kingdom.
The Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) is a streamlined electronic payment method used to process low-value, bulk transactions in Australia and New Zealand.
The Faster Payments Service (FPS) is a banking service in the United Kingdom. The FPS was instituted in order to reduce payment times between accounts held by different customers.
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a system of payment schemas that standardizes cashless transactions in euros.
Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a real-time payments system for mobile applications designed and launched by the National Payments Corporation of India.