If you’ve ever transferred money to, from or within Europe, you’ve probably noticed that the money doesn’t go through right away. This is pretty normal and happens with almost every transaction (with the exception of internal bank transfers). We’re going to take you through our ultimate guide to help you minimize the length of European transfer time. That way, your cross-border transactions will be as quick and easy as possible. Plus, this will help you plan big payments, to make sure they get to their destination on time.
An Introduction to European Cut-Off Times & SEPA
Before we get dig into international territory, here’s a look at transactions occurring within Europe: Some time ago, it used to be a hassle to pay for goods in one European country with Euros from another. When you wanted to transfer money from your home bank account to another European area, the payment often took some time at considerable cost.
More recently, the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) has changed this. SEPA ensures that over 500 million citizens can make and receive Euro payments under equal rights, obligations and conditions, no matter where they are within Europe. For example, Citibank’s SEPA Fund Transfers have a 3pm cut-off time for same day processing. Transfers within the SEPA now take place within 1 – 2 business days, fee free (the exact time depends on the local intermediaries).
Money Transfers from Europe (with love)
If you’re looking to send your Euros offshore, there’s always the option of a Cross-border payment. These are offered by the big banks – such as Deutsche Bank and come with a variety of different cut-off times. You can check these out here. For example, a transfer from EUR to AUD offshore has a cut-off time of 5pm (based on Central European Summer Time). Funds are received on “D+1” which is a fancy way of saying “the next business day”.
Money Transfers to Europe
Many of the European banks have a cut-off time for incoming payments also. You can check out Deutsche bank’s times here. You’ll want to check the time difference between your current location and destination before sending.
If you wanted to meet the 5pm AUD receiving cut-off in the Netherlands from Melbourne, you’d have to make the transfer before 1am the following day (Melbourne time). But remember – your local provider likely has their own cut-offs. For example, when transferring with OrbitRemit, you’d need to transfer the funds before 6pm cut-off Sydney time (or equivalent) for them to reach the Netherlands the next day. While this can often be quite confusing at first, this doesn’t usually change – so once you get into a rhythm with your common sending destinations, you’ll be good to go.
If you live in the United Kingdom, provided your bank recognises “fast-payments” for your accounts, there is no cut-off time. You can find a list of these details on this OrbitRemit support article.
OrbitRemit offers low cost, high security transfers between AUD/NZD and Euros within one business day. Check out our currency calculator on the top left-hand side of the screen to find out more!