Why your USD wire arrives short
International wires route through correspondent banks, and each one can deduct its charge from the money in transit. Unless the sender pays all charges upfront, the beneficiary receives the invoice amount minus every hop. That is why a $10,000 invoice lands as $9,960 and reconciliation never balances.
What happens in transit
A SWIFT wire is not one transfer, it is a relay. Your bank passes the payment to a correspondent, sometimes two, before it reaches the beneficiary's bank. Each bank in the relay is allowed to take its charge out of the principal, and none of them shows up on the sender's receipt.
Where the money goes
| Deduction | When it happens | Who sees it |
|---|---|---|
| Sender's wire fee | at send | The sender, as a fee line |
| Correspondent deductions | in transit | Nobody, until the money lands short |
| Beneficiary lifting fee | on arrival | The receiver, off the principal |
Your customer pays a $10,000 invoice. It arrives as $9,960. Now someone on your team spends an afternoon working out whether the customer underpaid, a bank took a fee, or both. Multiply by every invoice, every month.
OUR, SHA and BEN, in plain words
Wires carry a charge code. OUR means the sender pays all charges, SHA means they are shared, BEN means the beneficiary pays everything. Most business wires default to SHA, which is exactly how deductions end up taken in transit without either side choosing them.
Skip the relay entirely.
A USD account in your business's name means clients pay you by domestic transfer. No correspondents, no lifting fees, one fee on the quote: 0.49% plus fixed.
See USD accounts