Receiving Money

How to receive a transfer

Just like sending one, receiving an international money transfer is quick and simple. Here’s what you’ll need to know about receiving your money transfer.

You’ll need a bank account

When you transfer money electronically, there’s no physical money transport. The “transfer” is a secure exchange of information between two institutions (typically your bank and your recipient’s bank) that lets them know how much to debit from the sender’s account and whose account to credit (yours). Unlike wire transfers, which can be picked up in person, an online money transfer will go straight to your bank account.

If you don’t have a bank account, you can easily open one online or on the phone in just a few minutes. Here’s a guide to what you’ll need to open the account.

Your sender will need some information from you

Since the transfer’s going directly to your bank account, your friend will need to have your bank information handy to send the transfer.

Make sure that the sender knows the following information:

  • The country you have your bank account in

  • Your name

  • Your address (your residential address, not the bank’s address)

  • Your bank account number

  • Your BIC or SWIFT code

  • Your bank name

Does it take long?

Typically, the money will be deposited into your account within 1 to 4 business days, though many transfers complete sooner than that. Depending on the payment method and the delivery route, it could reach you in just a few minutes.

When the sender makes a transfer, before they confirm it, they’ll be told when the transfer should be sent and when it’s expected to arrive. After confirming the transfer, they’ll receive additional updates throughout the process and can track the status online. Unfortunately, we are unable to advise when the funds will be available to you. So, if you’re curious about when the money will arrive, start by asking the sender for the latest update.

Accepting the transfer


The money will be automatically deposited into your account. No need to head out to your local bank’s branch and wait in line; just wait for your bank to notify you that there’s been a deposit in your account.

If you have any questions about the status of your transfer, contact the sender to see if they have any updates for you. If they don’t have any, they can contact us by phone or by email with any questions or concerns.







We trade in nearly 100 currencies so you can send money to over 130 countries. Use the Xe Currency Converter to get the mid-market rate for your currency pair of choice or receive our send rate when sending your money.

Here's a list of our supported currencies (subject to change). Contact us if you don't see the one you're looking for and we'll try to help you arrange your transfer.

Albanian lek (ALL)

Algerian dinar (DZD)

Argentine peso (ARS)

Armenian dram (AMD)

Australian dollar (AUD)

Azerbaijani manat (AZN)

Bahamian dollar (BSD)

Bahraini dinar (BHD)

Bangladeshi taka (BDT)

Barbadian dollar (BBD

Bhutanese ngultrum (BTN)

Bolivian boliviano (BOB)

Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (BAM)

Botswana pula (BWP)

Brunei dollar (BND)

Bulgarian lev (BGN)

Canadian dollar (CAD)

Cape Verdean escudo (CVE)

Chilean peso (CLP)

Colombian peso (COP)

CFP franc (XPF)

Costa Rican colón (CRC)

Croatian kuna (HRK)

Czech koruna (CZK)

Danish krone (DKK)

Djiboutian franc (DJF)

Dominican peso (DOP)

Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Euro (EUR)

Fijan dollar (FJD)

Gambian dalasi (GMD)

Georgian lari (GEL)

Ghanaian cedi (GHS)

Guatemalan quetzal (GTQ)

Guinean franc (GNF)

Honduran lempira (HNL)

Hong Kong dollar (HKD)

Hungarian forint (HUF)

Indian rupee (INR)

Indonesian rupiah (IDR)

Israeli new shekel (ILS)

Jamaican dollar (JMD)

Japanese yen (JPY)

Jordanian dollar (JOD)

Kazakhstani tenge (KZT)

Kenyan shilling (KES)

South, South Korean won (KRW)

Kuwaiti dinar (KWD)

Lesotho loti (LSL)

Malagasy ariary (MGA)

Malawian kwacha (MWK)

Malaysian ringgit (MYR)

Mauritian rupee (MUR)

Mexican peso (MXN)

Moroccan dirham (MAD)

Mozambican metical (MZN)

Namibian dollar (NAD)

Nepalese rupee (NPR)

New Zealand dollar (NZD)

Macedonian denar (MKD)

Norwegian krone (NOK)

Omani rial (OMR)

Pakistani rupee (PKR)

Papua New Guinean kina (PGK)

Paraguayan guaraní (PYG)

Peruvian sol (PEN)

Philippine peso (PHP)

Polish złoty (PLN)

Qatari riyal (QAR)

Romanian leu (RON)

Russian ruble (RUB)

Rwandan franc (RWF)

Samoan tālā (WST)

Serbian dinar (RSD)

Singapore dollar (SGD)

Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)

South African rand (ZAR)

Sri Lankan rupee (LKR)

Surinamese dollar (SRD)

Swedish krona (SEK)

Swiss franc (CHF)

New Taiwan dollar (TWD)

Tajikistani somoni (TJS)

Tanzanian shilling (TZS)

Thai baht (THB)

Tongan paʻanga (TOP)

Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD)

Tunisian dinar (TND)

Turkish lira (TRY)

Ugandan shilling (UGX)

United Arab Emirates dirham (AED)

British pound (GBP)

United States dollar, USD

Uruguayan peso, UYU

Vanuatu vatu (VUV)

Vietnamese đồng (VND)








How long does it take?

Typically, the money will be deposited into your account within 1 to 4 business days, though many transfers complete sooner than that. Depending on the payment method and the delivery route, it could reach you in just a few minutes.

When the sender makes a transfer, before they confirm it, they’ll be told when the transfer should be sent and when it’s expected to arrive. After confirming the transfer, they’ll receive additional updates throughout the process and can track the status online. Unfortunately, we are unable to advise when the funds will be available to you. So, if you’re curious about when the money will arrive, start by asking the sender for the latest update.


We understand it can be difficult to remain patient when you’re waiting for an important money transfer. You want to receive your money quickly, and we do everything we can to make the process as smooth as possible. If you’re wondering where your money is, the person who’s sent it is the best place to start.

When they confirm the money transfer, they'll see the expected payment date.  They can also track the transfer in the app or on the web. The expected payment date is an estimate and not a guarantee that the money will arrive in your account at this time.

If your money is delayed more than 24 hours beyond the expected date and you’re concerned, contact us.

There are several things that may slow the progress of your money transfer and you should consider these before contacting us to find out where your money is:

Your details

Check with your sender to make sure they got your details correct when making the transfer. Small mistakes like misspelling a name or errors like giving us the wrong account number can cause problems.

Transfer time

We tell the sender as soon as we transfer the money to your bank, who then credit it to your account. Sometimes, this takes up to 3 or 4 days. If you’re concerned it’s taking longer than the estimated payment date, contact the sender.

Payment method

When we receive your money, we convert it and send it on to you. When the sender chooses to pay by card, that takes just minutes. When they pay by bank transfer, Direct Debit, ACH or similar - it depends how quickly they arrange it and if there are any delays in their bank depositing the money in our account.

More information required

Sometimes we need to make additional security checks and that can slow things down. We may ask the sender for proof of ID, source of funds or the legal documentation for changes to details.

Local business hours

Some currencies are available to transfer 7 days a week (subject to change) and others currently only available during local business hours. That means it may take longer for a currency to arrive if your money is sent near the end of a business day, public holiday or at the weekend.

Non-domestic accounts

Sending money to an account where the currency is not the national currency of that bank may take longer e.g. sending USD to a USD bank account in China.


Payment

The money will be automatically deposited into your account. There's no need to head out to your local bank’s branch and wait in line; just wait for your bank to notify you that there’s been a deposit in your account.

If you have any questions about the status of your transfer, contact the sender to see if they have any updates for you. If they don’t have any, they can contact us by phone or by email with any questions or concerns.





Xe offers customers an easy-to-use digital money transfer service. We don’t offer customers the ability to receive cash. Depending on their region, your sender can pay for your money transfer by card, bank transfer or Direct Debit including ACH, EFT, Bill Pay, PayID, Bpay and Interac E-transfer.


Bank details

Since the transfer’s going directly to your bank account, your sender will need to have your bank information handy to send the transfer.

Make sure that the sender knows the following information:

  • The country you have your bank account in

  • Your name

  • Your address (your residential address, not the bank’s address)

  • Your bank account number

  • Your BIC or SWIFT code

  • Your bank name


Not sure where to find your BIC/SWIFT code? Don’t worry, there’s a few places you can check to find yours.

Check your bank statements

You can usually find your bank’s BIC/ SWIFT code in your bank account statements. If you’re using an online bank, log into your digital bank account to easily view your bank statement. 

Check your bank’s official website

Visit the bank’s website and check their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section, international wire transfers, and other related links for their BIC/ SWIFT code. If there’s a search feature on the website, enter “SWIFT code” in the search box.

Contact your bank

In case you still can’t find the BIC/ SWIFT code, reach out to your bank via live chat, phone, social media, or email. 


To send or receive money internationally, your bank or any other financial institution must know where to send the money. BIC/SWIFT codes are the key to this.

BIC stands for Bank Identifier Code, and SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications. Sometimes, people use the terms “BIC” and “SWIFT” interchangeably.

SWIFT code or SWIFT ID typically identifies banks and other financial institutions worldwide, for international transactions. 

More specifically, it says who and where these institutions are, so that your money goes to the correct place - you might even think of it as a global identity card for banks. 

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) recognises and approves SWIFT codes for financial and non-financial institutions. Right now, there are over 40,000 live SWIFT codes in the world. 

What does a BIC/SWIFT code look like?

SWIFT/BIC codes contain 8-11 characters that identify your city, country, bank, and the branch of your bank. The code may look something like this:

AAAABBCCXXX

Looks complicated? Don't worry, here's an explanation of the format:

  • AAAA: 4-letter bank code that’s usually a shortened version of your bank’s name.

  • BB: 2-letter country code that represents the country in which the bank’s located.

  • CC: 2-character location code, pointing to the place where the bank’s head office is situated. It’s made up of letters and numbers.

  • XXX: 3-digit branch code that specifies a particular branch of the bank, usually the bank’s headquarters. These last 3 digits are optional, though.

Why do I need a BIC/ SWIFT code?

If you want to send money around the world, you’ll almost always need to use a SWIFT/BIC code. That’s because money transfers technically don’t transfer money around the world.

Banks securely transmit information to one another through the SWIFT system or their other channels, which lets them know where the money should come from (which account should be debited), and which account should be credited with the money. In short, without this code, your bank won’t know where exactly they should send your money to. 

When you use an international money transfer app like Xe, you’ll have to enter the BIC/SWIFT code of the recipient’s bank for sending money to the recipient, because the money will travel from your bank account to your recipient’s bank account. 





Safety and security

We’ve been in the currency business for over 25 years and keeping your money and information safe is one of our top priorities. We’re owned by the multibillion-dollar NASDAQ listed company Euronet Worldwide and adhere to regulatory standards in every country we operate in, along with having enterprise-grade security measures in place. 

We’ve built up our reputation as a secure service on years of trustworthy transfers. We’ve processed over $115 billion in 170 countries for over 112,000 clients. We know the money transfer business, and we are committed to creating a perfect transfer experience for you.

Transferring large sums of international currencies between banks carries a great deal of responsibility, and calls for:

  • State-of-the-art security, stable/scalable infrastructure, and infallible managed services.

  • Access to services for Anti Money Laundering and fraud prevention.

  • Deep, broad expertise in regulatory requirements international financial services.

  • Knowledgeable FX corporate trading industry experts.

  • App development and security geeks of the finest calibre.

  • University interns from innovative educational institutions like the University of Waterloo.

  • Understanding of risk management and the daily world events which influence currency valuation.

  • We offer detailed information about our data protection principles, the data we collect, how we collect data and how we use your data here.

We also inform you about your data protection rights and remedies as well.

Regulatory compliance

As an international company, our business is mandated to meet regulatory standards such as:

  • Europe's GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)

  • Canada's Privacy Act

  • The US Privacy Act

Our corporate traders and forward contract options minimise the erosion of your money from fees and turbulent currency values.

In order for XE to meet our regulatory requirements as a financial services provider, we need certain identification documentation when our clients and prospects sign up for a free XE Money Transfer account. These regulatory compliance requirements include KYC (Know Your Customer) and AMLCTF (Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing).

These documents will be encrypted and stored securely based on regional regulatory requirements. XE is regulated by central banks and financial regulatory agencies the world over, including:

  • The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

  • The New Zealand Financial Markets Association (NZFMA)

  • The Financial Transactions and Reporting Analysis Centre of Canada (FinTRAC)

  • l'Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) in the Province of Quebec

  • US Department of Treasury Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)

  • The Financial Services Authority in the UK

  • European Securities and Markets Authority

Verifying your identity

The documents we accept for proof of identification vary by country, but often include:

  • An original PDF image of your driver's license or passport.

  • A scanned image of a bank statement, utility bill, or other documents which confirm the mailing address you provide at the time of registration.

  • These files must be smaller that 5 MB in size, and be in one of the following formats: .jpg, .jpeg, .pdf, .png, .tif or .tiff.

If you have any questions or need clarification on the specific identification requirements of your country or region, please email transfers@xe.com

You can find our Terms of Service for businesses and consumers, along with other helpful resources here.





Keeping you and your personal information safe is our greatest priority. We want to help you to protect yourself from fraud attempts and have written blog posts and published tips on our website to help keep you and your loved ones safe. We help people avoid…

  • Phishing emails

  • Banking and online account scams

  • Online shopping scams

  • Lottery, competition and inheritance scams

  • Charity scams


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