Transferring money - credit transfer

A Credit Transfer is an order from you to your bank to transfer a sum of money to another account.

What charges are involved?
How to transfer to accounts in Ireland
How to transfer to accounts in the EU
How to transfer to accounts outside the EU

A credit transfer can be made:

on paper
by phone
on the internet if your financial institution has an online banking service.

If you want to transfer money by phone or internet banking sign up for telephone or online banking your bank or building society will tell you how to do this.

Once money is transferred electronically you cannot get it back.

What charges are involved?

Some banks charge for credit transfers while others don't, so if you use this facility frequently, check any charges with your bank or building society. Any fees to be paid will depend on where you want to send your money, how quickly you need to send the money and what currency you want to use. You will pay extra if you want your money transferred as quickly as possible.

How to transfer to accounts in Ireland

If you are using the online transfer service to another account in Ireland it usually will take 2 days for payment to be made. If both you and the receiver of the payment have an account with the same bank, the payment may be paid immediately.

How to transfer to accounts in the EU

Under EU law, if you make cross-border payments of up to €50,000 within the EU, you will not pay more than the cost of transferring money to an account in Ireland. If you are transferring money to a bank account within the EU, make sure you provide the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) of the person you are sending money to and the Bank Identifier Code (BIC) of their bank. This will avoid possible delays and extra transaction charges.

Banks have to inform customers of their IBAN and the bank's BIC. You can usually find your own IBAN and BIC on your bank account statement.

SEPA credit transfers can be used for euro-denominated transfers within Europe. New legislation to develop SEPA direct debits is scheduled for 2009. You can get more information on the SEPA website.

How to transfer to accounts outside the EU

It will cost you more to transfer to countries outside the EU. If you are sending money to a destination outside the euro zone, you will usually have to pay higher charges, including a transfer fee as well as a foreign exchange fee. Your bank or building society will have details of the charges for this service.