Transferring money abroad: details needed for bank transfers to the US, Canada & Australia

May 3, 2017November 10, 2022

In a previous article, we examined the importance of BIC codes and IBAN numbers in the transfer of funds internationally. If you need to transfer funds outside of the EU however, you should note that there are some destinations that have not adopted the IBAN as a bank identifier.

Here, we take a look at the US, Canada, and Australia and examine what bank details are needed by each country for the secure transfer of funds.

Sending money to the USA

ABA Routing Number:

Banks in the United States do not use the IBAN. Instead, the ABA (American Bankers Association) routing number, also known as the Routing Transit Number (RTN) is used. The ABA Routing number a 9 digit numerical code used to identify banks in the US. When sending an international transfer to the US, you will need to provide the BIC code and/or the ABA routing and account number of the beneficiary.

How do I recognise an ABA Routing number?

An ABA number is also commonly called a Fedwire number. Although primarily used in domestic US transfers, the ABA routing number is sometimes supplied when paying US dollars to beneficiaries by international money transfer. It is important to find out from your supplier if an ABA can accept international wire payments as some will only accept payments from within the United States. It is important to recognise the format for the Routing Number – The 9 digit code looks like this:

XXXX represents the Federal Reserve Routing Symbol;
YYYY is the ABA institution identifier;
Z is the cheque digit

Sending money to Canada

Canadian EFT Routing number:

As in the U.S., the Canadian banking system has not adopted the IBAN format for account identification purposes. Instead, Canadian EFT routing numbers are used for international transfers. When making an electronic funds transfer to Canada, you will need the Canadian EFT routing number and/or Swift Code together with a bank account number (normally between 5 and 12 digits) for the beneficiary.

How do I recognise a Canadian EFT Routing number?

Canadian EFT routing numbers are regulated by the Canadian Payments Association and comprise of a three-digit financial institution number and a five digit branch number, preceded by a ‘leading zero’. For Example:

XXX is the Institution Number
YYYYY is the Branch Number

As an example, an international money transfer to an account at one of Canada’s largest banks, Bank of Montreal in Toronto would include the following 9 digit routing code: 000103782

Where:

First 0 is the leading zero
001 is the institution number (Bank of Montreal)
03782 is the Branch Transit Number (Yonge Street)

Sending money to Australia

Australian BSB Number

A BSB (Bank-State-Branch) is a six digit numerical code used to identify an individual branch of a financial institution in Australia. When sending an international money transfer to Australia, the Swift code together with the BSB and account number of the beneficiary are required.

How do I recognise a BSB Number?

The Australian BSB number consists of three parts in the following format:

XX represent the financial institution
Y is the state where the branch is located
ZZZ represent the location of the branch

When sending money to Australia, the BSB is normally entered as a one long number without spaces or dashes (e.g. 654321 rather than 65–4–321)

If you have a requirement for a money transfer to any of the countries mentioned in this article, make sure you engage with a reputable payment service provider like Fexco to assist with bank account formatting. Always confirm bank details with your supplier or payee if you are unsure. Incorrect details can lead to payments being lost in the international banking system resulting in lengthy delays.

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