How to Wire Money with Bank of America

Table of Contents

• What is a Wire Transfer?
• A Step-by-Step Guide to Wiring Money with Bank of America
• How to Open a New Bank Account with Bank of America?
• How do I Send a Wire Transfer with Bank of America?
• How do I Receive a Wire Transfer with Bank of America?
• Instructions for domestic wire transfers to a Bank of America account
• Instructions for international wire transfers to a Bank of America account
• What is Bank of America's Wire Transfer Fee?
• How to Save Money on Wire Transfers?
• How do I Enable Secure Transfers in my Bank of America account?
• How Long does it take to Transfer Money using Bank of America?
• How much money can I send via a Bank of America Send Wire Transfer?
• Conclusion

Ready to wire some money? Bank of America is here to help with our guide on wiring money domestically and internationally with them.

Whether you are wiring funds for personal or business purposes, we have all the information you need to make a quick and easy wire transfer.

What is a Wire Transfer?

A wire transfer is an electronic payment service that allows users to send money from one bank account to another. The sending and recipient bank accounts can be located in the same country or different countries.

If the bank accounts are located within the same country, the wire transfer is called a domestic wire transfer. Domestic, or local wire transfers are generally cleared by the Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment systems within the same country.

If the source and destination bank accounts are located in different countries, the wire transfer qualifies as an international wire transfer. Usually, international wire transfers are processed through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), the Federal Reserve Wire Network, or the Clearing House Interbank Payments System.

Wire transfers may be domestic or international depending on where the source and destination bank accounts are located.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Wiring Money with Bank of America

Have you ever needed to wire money to someone but did not know how? A lot of people think that wiring money is complicated, but it is quite simple!

Most banks allow sending wire transfers both domestically as well as internationally. For example, all the top US banks specialize in sending wire transfers and have strong support for numerous international currencies across major global destinations.

Bank of America is one of the most popular banks in the United States, and it is no surprise that they have robust support for helping you send wire transfers with them.

Before you can send a wire transfer via Bank of America, you must have a bank account with them. If you do not already have one, you will need to go to your local branch and create a new account.

How to Open a New Bank Account with Bank of America?

The procedure of opening a new Bank of American account is typically simple for personal accounts. The requirements for personal accounts are simple and you just need to provide your Social Security Number as well as income and address proofs.

If you want to open a business account instead, you may need additional documentation and paperwork. This is because you will need to provide additional business identification documentation.

Here is a list of the required documents to create a business bank account:

• Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Tax ID
• Articles of Incorporation
• Government-issued photo ID
• Social Security Number (SSN)

Once you have an active Bank of America account, you can send wire transfers directly from your account. To start wiring money as a Bank of America customer, you can follow the steps below.

How do I Send a Wire Transfer with Bank of America?

If you wish to send a domestic or international wire transfer with Bank of America¹, follow the below steps to do so.

• Step 1. Get the wire transfer details from the recipient: To complete a wire transfer, you will need basic recipient information like name and address. You will also need their bank account information including their bank's identification number. If you do not have this info on hand, conduct a web browser search to find it.
  
  For domestic wire transfers with Bank of America, you will need the below information:
  • Name and address of the recipient.
  • Routing number for the recipient's bank (also called the ABA code).
  • Account number for the recipient's bank account.
  
  The requirements for international bank transfers are quite different. For Bank of America international wire transfers, you will need the below details:
  • Name and address of the recipient in the foreign country.
  • Account number for the recipient's overseas bank account – note that this may be an IBAN (International Bank Account Number) or a country-specific international account number. This is always required for international wire transfers to be able to uniquely identify the overseas bank account.
  • Recipient bank ID – this can be a SWIFT code, or a BIC, or a National ID. This is also a required and important piece of information for international wire transfers so the sending bank can uniquely identify the receiving bank.
  • Foreign currency of the recipient's bank account – this is needed for currency exchange between US Dollars and the receiving currency.
  • Purpose of sending the wire transfer.
  
  
• Step 2. Login into your Bank of America account: Once you have gathered all the information you need to send a wire transfer, log into Bank of America's online banking portal. If you do not have an online banking account, you can create one by providing your name, Social Security number, date of birth, and contact information. You will also need to set up security questions and answers and select a unique username and password.
  
  
• Step 3. Access the wire transfer menu: Look for the "Transfers | Zelle" tab in the navigation bar, and then select the "To/from other banks (including wires)" option.
  
  
• Step 4. Add your recipient: Use the information you collected from your recipient in Step 1 to add a new recipient to your Bank of America account by clicking on the "Add Account/Recipient" option. Fill out the form and necessary details to create the recipient record. Alternatively, you can also select an existing recipient if you have sent money to them before.
  
  
• Step 5. Send the wire transfer: Once you have chosen your recipient whom you want to send money to, click on the "Make Transfer" option. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to initiate your wire transfer request.

From this point on, Bank of America will work on your wire transfer. You will be notified via email once your transaction progresses to the next steps.

You can initiate a wire transfer from your Bank of America account in just a few simple steps.

How do I Receive a Wire Transfer with Bank of America?

Receiving a wire transfer¹ into your Bank of America account is very easy – you have to do nothing!

The sender will initiate the wire transfer and do the work to initiate and fund the transaction. You only need to supply them with the necessary information they will need to wire the money to your bank account.

The information needed varies based on whether the wire transfer is domestic or international and is covered below.

Instructions for domestic wire transfers to a Bank of America account

If someone wants to wire you money into your Bank of America account from anywhere within the United States, they will need the below information:

• Your BoA account number: If you do not know your BoA account number, simply login into your account, and go to the "Information & Services" tab. You will see your account number there.
• Bank of America's wire transfer routing number: The wire routing number will help the sending bank ensure the funds go to your BoA branch for credit into your account. For incoming domestic US wire transfers, BoA's wire routing number is 026009593.
• Your full name and address: Make sure that the name you give to your recipient matches the name on your BoA bank account.

Using the above details, your domestic US sender should be able to wire you the funds straight into your Bank of America bank account.

Instructions for international wire transfers to a Bank of America account

If you are receiving an international wire transfer into your BoA bank account, the sender will need the below information to be able to make a successful transfer:

• Your name, address and bank account number: These details are similar to the ones we listed above for domestic wire transfers.
• Bank of America's SWIFT code as well as address: This is important information as the SWIFT code uniquely identifies BoA for international wire transfers. This information is as per below:
  • If you are receiving foreign currency transfer from overseas, the sender should use BOFAUS6S as the SWIFT code and the following BoA address - Bank of America, N.A., 555 California St., San Francisco, CA 94104.
  • If you are receiving US Dollars or an unknown currency, the sender should instead use BOFAUS3N as the SWITFT code and the following address - Bank of America, N.A., 222 Broadway, New York, NY 10038.

That is all the information that your sender needs to be able to wire money into your Bank of America account from overseas.

Make sure to give you sender the correct Bank of America routing number, SWIFT code, bank address, account number and other information to ensure the incoming wire makes it into your account without any issues.

What is Bank of America's Wire Transfer Fee?

You may be assessed fees for your wire transfer with Bank of America. Wire transfer fees may also depend on your account type and the kind of transfer you are looking to make.

Below are Bank of America's standard wire transfer fees:

• Domestic wire transfer fee is USD 30
• International wire transfer fee for US Dollar transfers is USD 45
• International wire transfers sent in foreign currency are free of cost

You can expect to pay USD 30 for domestic wires with Bank of America, and USD 45 for international ones.

When you use online banking facility with Bank of America to send your wire transfer, you will have the opportunity to review any fees prior to completing the transfer.

In addition to the above standard wire transfer fees, you may also have to pay a hidden fee for international transfers in the form of sub-optimal exchange rates. Note that banks typically provide worse exchange rates on international wire transfers. This means that less money gets to your overseas recipient.

Given the high cost of wire transfers to send money overseas, you can look at alternatives. The most economical way to send money internationally is by using specialist money transfer companies like XE, Wise, Revolut and others.

Money transfer companies provide much better exchange rates as compared to banks, and also charge very low fees. You should compare various money transfer companies to see which ones might be a better fit for your money transfer needs.

How to Save Money on Wire Transfers?

One option to save on your Bank of America wire transfers is to sign up for Bank of America's Preferred Rewards program, which will allow certain transfers to be free. You will have to meet certain criteria to be eligible for this program though.

The second choice is to utilize a non-bank alternative. Dedicated money transfer companies are a great option as you will make more out of your international money transfers by using them.

Use an online money transfer comparison platform like RemitFinder to easily compare the pros and cons of numerous remittance providers. You can also sign up for a free daily exchange rate alert to stay up to date with ever-changing FX rates.

How do I Enable Secure Transfers in my Bank of America account?

If you are a Bank of America customer and are looking to make your wire transfers more secure, the bank recommends signing up for its SafePass feature. This added security measure will help protect your online banking transfers inside the Bank of America portal.

To enable secure transfers from within your account, go to the "Profile and Settings" section after logging in. Then go to "Security settings" and navigate to "Manage SafePass" and follow the instructions to setup additional security on your account.

You can also setup Secure Transfers with Bank of America by using a USB security key called a YubiKey. With this approach, you sign in into your online account with your normal username and password, and the additional YubiKey. This creates an additional layer of security by enabling 2FA (2-factor authentication) on your account.

Even if your credentials to your online bank account were compromised, no one can make a transfer from your account as they will not have your YubiKey which is required to make a wire transfer if you had setup secure transfers on your account.

Bank of America providers several features to enhance the security of your account and wire transfer transactions.

How Long does it take to Transfer Money using Bank of America?

Bank of America wire transfers arrive in 1-2 business days for domestic wires and 2-3 business days for international senders.

Note that you must initiate your wire transfer before 5 pm ET cut off time. Any requests after this time will be processed the following day. The only exception to this is wire transfers sent for tax payments.

Bank of America usually clears domestic wire transfers within 1-2 business days, and international ones within 2-3 business days.

Finally, bank holidays in the US as well as the receiving country will have an impact on the overall transfer speed.

How much money can I send via a Bank of America Send Wire Transfer?

The wire transfer limit for domestic and international outgoing wire transfers through Bank of America's online banking system is USD 1,000 and USD 5,000, respectively.

Additionally, Bank of America also has limits on how many wire transfer transactions you can execute in a given duration like a month. These also vary based on your account type and membership level with Bank of America. You can check with your local BoA branch to find out your wire transfer sending limits.

Bank of America wire transfer limits depend on a few factors. Check with your bank to see what your wire transfer sending limits are.

Conclusion

Bank of America offers convenient wire transfers for transferring money both domestically and internationally. Wire transfers are fast and secure but can be expensive if you are not careful.

Be sure to pay close attention to the details of each transaction and take advantage of any discounts or rewards programs that may be available to you. With a little bit of planning, you can save yourself some money on wire transfer fees.

References:
1. Bank of America's wire transfer guide