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MXNLocal account details vs SWIFT wire: what's the difference?
Local account details let a payer send you money over their own country's payment system, such as ACH in the US or SEPA in Europe, with no correspondent banks in between. A SWIFT wire moves between countries through one or more correspondent banks, and each can take a fee from the amount. Give payers local details where you have them and keep SWIFT for the rest.
In this article
- 01What are local account details and what is a SWIFT wire?
- 02How does each kind of payment travel?
- 03How do local details and a SWIFT wire compare?
- 04What do OUR, SHA and BEN mean on a wire?
- 05When is a SWIFT wire still the right choice?
- 06What should you send your payer?
- 07What does one invoice cost each way?
- 08Questions
- 09Sources
What are local account details and what is a SWIFT wire?
Local account details are the numbers a payer uses to pay you over their own country's payment system: a US routing and account number for ACH, a euro IBAN for SEPA, or UAE dirham details for a local transfer. Your payer pays you the way they pay a local supplier, so for them the payment is domestic.
A SWIFT wire is an international bank transfer whose instructions travel over Swift, the messaging network banks use to talk to each other. The money itself moves through correspondent banks, which hold accounts for banks abroad. A payment can pass through one or more of these intermediaries, and each one can charge a fee.
For your payer, a payment to local details is domestic and a SWIFT wire is cross-border. The Bank for International Settlements' payments committee (CPMI) says cross-border payments are “generally slower, more expensive and more opaque” than domestic ones.
How does each kind of payment travel?
Local systems run inside one country or currency area. These are the ones behind USD, EUR and AED account details.
- ACH in the US. Nacha says ACH reaches all US bank and credit union accounts and can process payments within hours on the same business day. A US payer can also send a domestic wire over the Federal Reserve's Fedwire Funds Service, where transfers are final and irrevocable once processed.
- SEPA in Europe. The ECB says the SEPA region covers 41 European countries, and that EU rules keep cross-border euro payments within the EU and EEA no more expensive than domestic ones. The Bundesbank says a SEPA credit transfer may take only one banking business day, and the ECB says SEPA Instant arrives within ten seconds, any hour of any day.
- Local transfers in the UAE. Banks in the UAE settle transfers with each other through the UAEFTS, the real-time gross settlement system owned and run by the Central Bank of the UAE.
A SWIFT wire has more steps. Swift carries the instructions, while the money moves through accounts banks hold with each other. The CPMI describes a correspondent bank as one that provides local account and payment services for banks based abroad, and says one transaction may need several payments between intermediary correspondent banks.
- 1Your client's bank sends the wireSay a client in Europe pays USD to your bank in Kenya. The client's bank takes the amount plus its fee and sends a Swift message with the client's charge option.
- 2Correspondent banks pass it alongIf the two banks don't hold accounts with each other, correspondent banks move the money between them. Depending on the charge option, each can take its fee out of the payment.
- 3Your bank credits youYour bank receives what is left, may charge an incoming fee, and converts at its own rate if your account is in another currency.
How do local details and a SWIFT wire compare?
| Local account details | SWIFT wire | |
|---|---|---|
| How it travels | Over the payer's domestic system, such as ACH, SEPA or a UAE local transfer | Between banks in different countries, often through one or more correspondent banks |
| Who pays what | The payer pays their own bank's fee, if any. You pay your provider's receiving fee, if any | Set by the charge option on the wire: OUR, SHA or BEN |
| Intermediary deductions | No correspondent banks in the chain, so nothing is taken in transit | Possible. Intermediaries can take fees out of the amount, so less can arrive than you invoiced |
| Charge options | No choice to make. Each side pays its own bank | The payer picks OUR, SHA or BEN |
| Speed | ACH can be processed the same business day. SEPA takes up to one business day, or seconds with SEPA Instant | Usually one to a few business days, depending on the banks in between |
| Currency | The payer pays in the currency of your details, so nothing is converted in transit | If the payer's currency differs from your account's, a bank in the chain converts at its own rate |
| Tracking | A short chain: the payer's bank and your provider can each confirm their side | Banks on Swift gpi track a payment end to end with its UETR reference |
Your bank's cut-off times and its own checks also affect when the money reaches you.
Currency mismatch is the cost people miss. If you invoice in USD and your client's account is in euros, one of the banks converts at its own rate. With EUR details, a client in the euro area pays in euros and you decide when to convert.
What do OUR, SHA and BEN mean on a wire?
Every SWIFT wire carries a charge option that tells the banks in the chain who pays their fees. HSBC UK's 2021 notice to business clients defines the three codes like this.
- OUR: the sender pays all fees applied by banks in relation to the payment, including fees applied by intermediary and beneficiary banks. Your client pays more to send it, and the full invoice amount should reach you.
- SHA: the charges are shared, and the sender and the beneficiary each pay their own bank's charges. Fees from banks in the middle can be taken from the payment on the way, which is how the $5,000 invoice in the example below arrives as $4,965.
- BEN: the beneficiary pays all fees applied by banks, including any sending bank fees. This leaves you with the least.
The same notice says eurozone SEPA payments must still be sent as SHA, so on a SEPA payment there is no OUR or BEN choice and each side pays its own bank.
Swift itself says cross-border payments are often processed by several banks, and that unexpected fees and deductions leave the person paid with less. On its Swift Go service, for payments up to the equivalent of $10,000, banks agree to credit the recipient with the full amount.
When is a SWIFT wire still the right choice?
Local details only help when you have details in the payer's currency and the payer can reach that domestic system. SWIFT still fits these cases.
- Currencies with no local details. If a client pays in a currency you have no details for, such as Japanese yen or Swiss francs, a SWIFT wire may be the only bank route.
- Large one-off payments. Wire fees are usually flat amounts, so they are a small share of a large payment. The payer's bank may also set lower limits on other methods. Same Day ACH, for example, is limited to $1 million per payment; larger ACH payments settle the next day.
- Payers who only send wires. Some companies pay every foreign supplier by wire as a policy. Give them clear SWIFT details and ask for OUR.
- Payers outside the currency area. A client banking in Vietnam usually can't send ACH, because ACH is a US network. Their bank sends a SWIFT wire instead, so ask your provider whether your USD details accept incoming SWIFT wires and what it charges.
What should you send your payer?
Put the details on the invoice itself, under a clear heading for each method, so the client's accounts team can copy them without asking.
| Method | What to send | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ACH (USD) | Account holder name, routing number, account number and account type | The routing number is the nine-digit ABA number for the receiving institution |
| Domestic wire (USD) | The same, plus the bank name and address | If your details list a separate routing number for wires, give that one |
| SEPA or SEPA Instant (EUR) | Account holder name and IBAN | The Bundesbank says payers within the EEA need only the IBAN. Payers outside the EEA also need the BIC |
| Local transfer (AED) | Account holder name, IBAN and bank name, as your provider shows them | For payers who bank in the UAE |
| SWIFT wire | Account holder name, account number or IBAN, SWIFT/BIC code, bank name and address, any intermediary bank your bank lists, and the charge option you want | If the money is late, ask the payer for the wire's UETR or their bank's payment confirmation |
Vezmo's global business account is in early access. It offers USD details for ACH and wire, EUR details for SEPA and SEPA Instant, and AED details for local transfers for companies outside the UAE mainland, including free zone companies. Which details you get depends on where your business is registered and where its owners live; Vezmo checks this when you apply. Clients pay into an account held by Vezmo's regulated partners & Bank, and the money is credited to your Vezmo balance, which belongs to your business. It is not a bank account in your name (how money is held). Accounts fees are confirmed when the account opens.
What does one invoice cost each way?
Take a $5,000 invoice from a US client to a design studio in the Philippines. The fees below are example numbers to show how the costs stack up. They are not any bank's or provider's actual prices.
| SWIFT wire to your bank at home (SHA) | ACH to your USD account details | |
|---|---|---|
| Client sends | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| Client's bank fee, paid by the client on top | $45 sending fee | $0 to $5 |
| Taken by an intermediary | $20 | Nothing, no intermediary |
| Fee on your side | $15 incoming wire fee | Your provider's receiving fee, if any |
| Reaches you in USD terms | $4,965 | $5,000 (receiving is free with Vezmo USD details) |
| Conversion to pesos | Your bank converts on arrival, at its rate | You convert or withdraw when you choose, at your provider's rate |
Sent with OUR instead, the client might pay an extra $30 (again an example) so the $20 and $15 don't come out of your $5,000. Local details remove the intermediary. Whether they leave you more depends on your provider's receiving and conversion fees, so compare what reaches you in your own currency.
With Vezmo USD account details (early access), the client pays the $5,000 by ACH or domestic wire and all $5,000 arrives, because receiving is free and the details are free. For more on the two US methods, read ACH vs wire transfer.
Questions
What are local account details?
They are the account numbers a payer uses to pay you over their own country's payment system, such as a US routing and account number for ACH or a euro IBAN for SEPA. The payment stays domestic for the payer, so no correspondent banks sit in between.
Why did I receive less than I invoiced on an international wire?
On a SWIFT wire sent with SHA or BEN charges, intermediary banks and your own bank can take their fees from the amount before it reaches you. A currency conversion along the way can also change the amount. Ask the payer to send with OUR, or give them local details in their currency.
Who pays SWIFT intermediary bank fees?
It depends on the charge option. Under OUR the sender pays all bank fees, including intermediary fees. Under SHA each side pays its own bank and intermediary fees can come out of the payment, and under BEN the beneficiary pays them all.
Can a client abroad pay my USD account details by ACH?
Usually not. Nacha describes ACH as reaching US bank and credit union accounts, so the payer normally needs a US account to send one. A client banking elsewhere sends a SWIFT wire, so check whether your details accept incoming SWIFT wires.
How long does each method take?
Nacha says ACH payments can be processed within hours on the same business day. The Bundesbank says a SEPA credit transfer takes at most one banking business day, and the ECB says SEPA Instant arrives within ten seconds. A SWIFT wire usually takes one to a few business days, depending on the banks in between.
Does Vezmo give local account details?
Vezmo offers USD details for ACH and wire, EUR details for SEPA and SEPA Instant, and AED details for local transfers for companies outside the UAE mainland, all in early access. Which details a business gets depends on where it is registered and where its owners live, and Vezmo checks this when you apply.
Sources
Each one is the organization’s own page, checked 24 Oct 2026. Rules and fees change, so check them before you act.
- BIS CPMI: Quantitative review of correspondent banking data
- Nacha: What is ACH
- Federal Reserve Board: Fedwire Funds Services
- American Bankers Association: ABA routing number
- European Central Bank: Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA)
- European Central Bank: Instant payments
- Deutsche Bundesbank: SEPA Credit Transfer
- Central Bank of the UAE: UAE Fund Transfer System (UAEFTS)
- Swift: Swift GPI
- Swift: Swift Go
- HSBC UK: Additional charge codes for payment files (notice, January 2021)
Vezmo is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking, stablecoin and card services are provided by regulated partners & Banks. Last reviewed 24 Oct 2026.