How long does a bank transfer take to arrive: quick guide to speed things up

If you’re wondering how long does a transfer take to arrive, the short answer is: it depends. It can be a matter of seconds or several days.

An instant transfer can be in the destination account in less than 10 seconds, while a standard one within Europe (SEPA) usually takes one business day. If the money crosses borders outside Europe (via SWIFT), the wait can extend to 2 to 5 business days.

Transfer times: how long do you have to wait?

That uncertainty of not knowing when the money will arrive is something we’ve all experienced, whether waiting for a payment or managing a business’s cash flow. Fortunately, understanding the timelines is simpler than it seems. Speed isn’t random, but responds to rules and systems that work “behind the scenes” in the banking system.

Think of it like a courier service. You have the express delivery option that arrives almost immediately and the standard service, which follows fixed routes and schedules. In the financial world, the main types of “shipment” are very similar:

• Intrabank transfers: These are the fastest, like delivering a package in the same building. When money moves between accounts at the same bank, the process is internal and usually reflects instantly or within minutes.
• SEPA transfers: These operate within the Single Euro Payments Area. Here coexist standard ones, which usually take one business day, and instant ones, which do it in seconds, at any time and any day.
• International transfers (SWIFT): These are for sending money outside the SEPA zone. They’re slower and more complex because the money often has to pass through several intermediary banks before reaching its final destination.

The rise of immediacy in payments

The world of payments has changed radically in recent years. People want speed, and that has driven the use of instant payment systems. In fact, Spain set a historic record by processing 1.556.3 million instant transfers, representing growth of 31.1% compared to the previous year.

This boom is largely explained by European regulations that require banks to offer them at the same price as ordinary transfers, making them accessible to everyone.

To give you a clearer idea, here’s a summary table with the most common times.

Summary of estimated times by transfer type

This table quickly compares the most common arrival times for the main types of bank transfers.

Transfer Type	Estimated Arrival Time	Usual Cost for Individuals
Intrabank (same bank)	Immediate or within minutes	Generally free
Standard SEPA	1 business day (if ordered before cutoff time)	Free or with a low fee
Instant SEPA	Less than 10 seconds (24/7/365)	Same cost as standard (by regulation)
International SWIFT	2 to 5 business days (may vary)	Higher fees (sending + intermediaries + receiving)

As you can see, the difference is notable. Choosing one type or another depends on how much of a hurry you’re in and where the money is going.

Later, we’ll see how some details, such as your bank’s cutoff time, holidays, or a simple error in the IBAN, can affect these timelines. The goal is for you to master these times to plan your money with precision, whether for your personal finances or for managing your SME. If you want to know more, you can check our guide on SEPA bank transfers.

SEPA transfers: standard pace vs. instant speed

In the day-to-day of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which encompasses 36 countries, moving money is a constant operation. But not all transfers travel at the same speed. To really know how long does a transfer take to arrive, it’s essential to understand the difference between the two main types: standard and instant.

Although both serve the same purpose, which is sending money from one account to another, their internal operation and timelines are like night and day. Think of it like sending a package: you can opt for the standard courier service or hire an express messenger. One is methodical and reliable, the other is pure speed.

Standard SEPA transfer: the service of a lifetime

The standard SEPA transfer is that trusted courier service. It operates with a very marked calendar and schedule. Its delivery time is well defined: one business day. This means that if you order the payment on a Monday before noon, the money will be in the destination account on Tuesday. But if you do it on a Friday, it won’t arrive until Monday, since weekends and holidays don’t count.

This is where a key detail comes into play: the cutoff time.

The cutoff time is, basically, the deadline that each bank sets for processing payment orders on the same day. If you send the money after that time, it’s as if the delivery truck has already left. Your “package” will have to wait until the next day to get moving.

For example, if your bank closes the day’s operations at 5:00 PM and you make the transfer at 5:05 PM, for practical purposes it’s as if you had done it the next day. Therefore, it will take one more day to reach its destination.

Instant SEPA transfer: money in a moment

On the other side of the scale we have the instant SEPA transfer. This is the express messenger of finance, a service that knows nothing of schedules or holidays.

• Incredible speed: The money arrives in the destination account in less than 10 seconds.
• Total availability: It works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It doesn’t matter if it’s Sunday or Christmas.
• Zero waiting: You can completely forget about business days and cutoff times. A transfer you send on a Saturday at ten at night arrives that same Saturday at ten at night.

This system is completely changing the rules of the game. Thanks to new European regulation, banks now offer this service at the same price as normal transfers, which has boosted its use for everything: from paying your share of dinner to a friend to paying an urgent invoice to a supplier.

For it to work, there’s only one condition: that both your bank and the recipient’s are part of the instant payments network. Fortunately, today, the vast majority of European institutions already are. If you’re interested in learning more about the technology behind it, you can learn more about instant transfers in our article.

Knowing how to differentiate between these two types of transfer gives you the power to decide. You choose whether you prefer the predictability of the standard service or the immediacy of the instant route.

Factors that can delay your money (and how to avoid them)

Although the banking system is increasingly agile, sometimes money doesn’t arrive when we expect it. To really understand how long does a transfer take to arrive, it’s equally important to know the obstacles that can arise along the way. It’s not about system failures, but about the rules of the game and the controls that ensure each transaction is secure.

Think of it as if money were a package. Even if the destination is around the corner, if the delivery person has already left or the address has a typo, the delivery will be delayed. In the financial world something very similar happens. If you understand these factors, you’ll have much more control over your shipments.

Cutoff time: the clock that decides everything

The cutoff time is, without a doubt, the most common cause of delays in standard SEPA transfers. Each bank sets a daily deadline for processing operations. If you order the payment after that moment, your transfer stays in the outgoing queue until the next business day.

• A practical case: Your bank has the cutoff time at 5:00 PM. If you send a standard transfer on Monday at 4:30 PM, it will arrive on Tuesday.
• The same case with delay: If you make that same operation at 5:15 PM, for practical purposes it’s as if you had done it Tuesday morning. Therefore, the money won’t arrive until Wednesday. It’s been delayed a full day.

This rule doesn’t apply to either instant transfers or those that move between accounts at the same bank, which work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Business days: the banking calendar isn’t like yours

The concept of business day is crucial. Traditional banking “rests” during weekends and holidays. A transfer you order on Friday afternoon won’t get moving until Monday morning.

Watch out for local or regional holidays. If the recipient’s bank is in a region that has a holiday, even if it’s a normal day in your city, the operation might not complete until the next business day for them.

Human errors: the dreaded incorrect IBAN

A simple error when typing the IBAN number is one of the most frustrating causes of a payment being delayed. Unlike a spelling mistake in an email, an incorrect IBAN stops the operation cold. The system detects that the account doesn’t exist and the transfer is left “in limbo”.

Recovering the money can be a slow process. Your bank has to wait for the rejection notification to return the funds to you, a process that can take several days and, in some cases, even generate fees for the handling. To avoid the hassle, check the data twice before confirming. If in doubt, we recommend validating the IBAN number with some online tool to be safe.

Security controls and fraud prevention

Finally, banks are required to apply very strict controls to prevent money laundering and fraud. If a transfer is for a very high amount or has some characteristic that’s out of the ordinary, it can be held for manual review.

It’s a mechanism that protects us all, but it can add an unexpected delay. If you’re planning to move a significant sum, good advice is to notify your bank in advance. This speeds up the process and avoids last-minute surprises.

The journey of international SWIFT transfers

When money crosses the borders of the SEPA zone, the rules of the game change completely. If a transfer within Europe is like taking a direct flight, an international transfer through the SWIFT network is more like a journey with several stops. The money doesn’t go from your bank to the destination bank in a single jump.

Rather, it begins a journey in which one or several intermediary banks (also called correspondents) may intervene. Each of these “stops” adds time, fees, and another point of complexity to the operation. That’s why knowing exactly how long does a transfer take to arrive of this type is much harder to predict.

The “stops” that lengthen your money’s journey

The waiting time, which normally moves in a range of between 2 and 5 business days, depends on the obstacles the funds encounter along the way. Each stop on the route is a possible bottleneck, and the reasons are very varied.

• Time differences and local holidays: Your money travels between countries with different schedules and calendars. A holiday in an intermediary bank’s country can leave the operation paused for 24 hours.
• Currency conversion: If the transfer needs a currency change (for example, going from euros to dollars), an extra step is added to the process that can delay final settlement.
• Stricter security controls: At the international level, regulations against money laundering are much more rigorous. Any operation, especially if it’s for a high amount, can be held for manual review.

Think of a SWIFT transfer as a chain of messages between banks. If a single link in that chain fails or is delayed, the entire process stops. Communication has to be perfect at each stage.

The vital importance of the SWIFT/BIC code

For this complex journey to reach its destination, it’s essential that the “address” is correct. In the world of international transfers, that key data is the SWIFT/BIC code of the recipient bank. It’s the unique identifier that allows the network to guide the funds through the maze of correspondent banks to their final destination.

A simple error in this code is like putting the wrong address on a package you’re sending abroad. It will most likely get lost, go around aimlessly, or end up returned, generating delays and additional costs. Checking it twice before giving the send order is the best insurance you can have.

The following diagram summarizes very visually the most common factors that can cause delays in any type of transfer.

As you can see, from not making the bank’s cutoff time to mistyping the IBAN, every small detail is a critical control point that can stop or divert the flow of your money.

How to automate payments and collections so nothing fails

If you run an SME or work as a freelancer, this will surely sound familiar: manual management of payments and collections is an endless source of problems. Preparing batches of transfers or direct debits in a spreadsheet is a slow, tedious process and, above all, a magnet for human errors. As we’ve already seen, these small mistakes end up causing delays, returns, and costs that no one had anticipated.

Automation has stopped being a luxury to become the most practical solution for money to flow without obstacles. The idea is simple: eliminate repetitive tasks and minimize the risk of failures to ensure payments are processed well and on the first try.

From Excel to a bank file in seconds

The key to automating your batch management is very clear: you need to transform your invoice data into a format that your bank understands directly, without interpreters or intermediate steps. This is where SEPA XML files come into play. Think of it as the universal language that all European banks use to process payments in bulk, whether salaries, payments to suppliers, or collecting fees from clients.

For this there are specialized tools like ConversorSEPA, which act as an instant translator. They allow you to take a simple Excel or CSV file with the operation data and, with one click, convert it into a validated SEPA XML file ready to upload to your online banking.

Payment batch automation isn’t just a time saver, but preventive quality control. By validating data before sending it, errors that cause 90% of delays and returns are eliminated.

This automatic conversion brings very tangible benefits that improve any business’s cash flow:

• Hours of work saved: Forget about entering data one by one on the bank’s website. What used to take hours, now takes minutes.
• Error reduction to zero: Typical mistakes when typing an IBAN or amount simply disappear.
• Integrated IBAN validation: Many of these tools check that account numbers are correct before generating the file, which saves you from costly bank returns.

One step further: total integration with an API

The next level in automation is connecting your own management or invoicing system directly with the payments platform. This is achieved through a JSON API, which works as a bridge that communicates both systems so they talk to each other without you having to intervene.

What does this mean in practice? Well, when you issue an invoice, the payment or collection order is generated and sent to the bank automatically. The financial cycle closes by itself. It’s a completely optimized workflow that frees you to focus on what really matters.

And it’s not just about transfers. Automating collection processes is fundamental for businesses with recurring income. For example, a good CRM for sales agents can be the key piece to ensure payments arrive on time and avoid policies expiring, thus optimizing all financial management.

We answer your questions: Frequently asked questions about transfer timelines

We’ve reached the final stretch and it’s normal that you still have some questions about day-to-day situations. After all, knowing how long does a transfer take to arrive is crucial for managing expectations, whether with a client waiting for a payment, a supplier you need to pay an invoice to, or simply in your personal life.

Here we’ll answer the most common questions clearly and directly. Think of this section as your quick reference guide.

What happens if I make a transfer on a Saturday?

This is, without a doubt, the million-dollar question. The short answer is: it depends on the type of transfer you’ve chosen.

• If you’ve made a standard SEPA transfer, the banking system will leave it on “stand-by” until the next business day. Imagine you order it on Saturday morning; in practice, your bank won’t start moving the money until Monday first thing. Therefore, the recipient will receive it, at the earliest, on Tuesday.
• On the other hand, if you choose an instant SEPA transfer, the day of the week doesn’t matter at all. The money will be in the destination account in less than 10 seconds, regardless of whether it’s Saturday, Sunday, or a national holiday.

To be clear: if you need the money to arrive during the weekend no matter what, instant transfer isn’t just an option, it’s the only one that guarantees it.

Can I cancel a transfer if I’ve made a mistake with the recipient?

Here the key is how quickly you act and, again, the type of shipment you’ve made.

• Standard transfers: You have some margin. If you did it after your bank’s cutoff time or during a weekend, it’s very likely it hasn’t been processed yet. In that case, you should be able to cancel it yourself from online banking or by calling your manager. If it’s already gone out, things get complicated and you’ll need the receiving bank to cooperate to recover it.
• Instant transfers: Their name says it all: they’re immediate. Once you hit confirm, the operation executes in seconds and is irrevocable. If you’ve made a mistake, the bank can’t do anything anymore. The only solution is to talk directly with the person who received the money and trust that they’ll return it voluntarily.

Why does my international transfer take forever?

International transfers that use the SWIFT network are a world apart. The usual timeframe is 2 to 5 business days, but sometimes the mystery extends for several reasons that aren’t always obvious.

• Intermediary banks: The money doesn’t fly directly from your bank to the recipient’s. It often makes “stops” at several correspondent banks along the way, and each stop adds time to the process.
• Holidays and schedules: A holiday in one of those intermediary banks’ countries can leave your money paralyzed for an entire day, even if it’s a business day in Spain and the destination country.
• Currency conversion: If the transfer involves converting euros to dollars, for example, another step is added to the chain that can delay arrival.
• Security controls: Regulations against money laundering are very strict. Sometimes, an operation can be held for manual review, especially if it’s for high amounts or uncommon destinations.

Will it arrive sooner if I order it from the mobile app instead of the web?

No, the channel you use to give the order (whether the app, the web, or a visit to the branch) doesn’t influence the speed at all. What really determines how long does a transfer take to arrive is the type of operation you choose (standard or instant) and whether you do it before or after your bank’s famous cutoff time.

What do I do if a transfer doesn’t arrive when it should?

If more than one business day has passed (or more, if there have been holidays in between) and your standard transfer hasn’t reached its destination, the first thing is to stay calm and follow some logical steps.

1. Verify the data: First things first. Look for the operation receipt and check letter by letter and number by number that the IBAN, name, and amount are correct. A simple mix-up of numbers is the most common error.
2. Contact your bank: If the data is correct, call your institution. Give them the transaction reference number so they can “track” it and tell you at what point along the way it is.
3. Talk to the recipient: Ask them to check their account again and, if necessary, to consult with their own bank. Sometimes, the money is already at the destination institution but hasn’t yet been reflected in the client’s available balance.

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At ConversorSEPA, we know that agility in payments is the engine of any business. That’s why we’ve created a solution so you stop wasting time with manual tasks and forget about errors. Generate SEPA XML files ready to upload to your bank in seconds, starting from a simple Excel or CSV. Try our tool for free and discover how easy it is to save time and avoid returns.

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