When will my payment arrive?

How it works out the day

Every rail settles on its own business days. The calculator starts from the day you send, moves to the next business day if the rail is closed or you're after your bank's cut-off, and then adds the rail's settlement time:

• US rails follow the Federal Reserve's holidays, such as Thanksgiving and, in 2027, Independence Day observed on Monday 5 July.
• Euro rails follow the TARGET closing days: 1 January, Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, and 25 and 26 December.
• UK rails follow the bank holidays in England and Wales, including the substitute days when Christmas falls on a weekend.

The full lists are in the holiday calendars for Fedwire and FedACH, TARGET (T2) and CHAPS, Bacs and Faster Payments.

Rail by rail

• SEPA Instant (EUR). SEPA Instant settles in under 10 seconds, every day of the year, holidays included.
• SEPA credit transfer (EUR). Under EU rules, a euro transfer must reach the payee's bank by the end of the next business day after your bank receives the order. Many arrive the same day.
• Faster Payments (GBP). Faster Payments run every day of the year. Funds are usually available almost at once, but a payment can take up to two hours.
• CHAPS (GBP). CHAPS settles each payment the same day, on UK working days, if your bank sends it before its cut-off.
• Bacs (GBP). Bacs runs a three-day cycle: submitted on day one, processed on day two and credited on day three, counting UK working days only.
• Fedwire domestic wire (USD). Fedwire settles each payment as it's processed, on Federal Reserve business days, if your bank sends it before its cut-off.
• Same Day ACH (USD). Same Day ACH settles in three batches during the business day, if your bank submits it before its same-day cut-off.
• Standard ACH (USD). ACH credits settle on the same, next or second banking day, as the sender chooses. Standard ACH is usually the next banking day.
• FedNow (USD). FedNow settles in seconds, every day of the year, where both banks use it.
• SWIFT wire in USD. Swift says over 90% of its payments reach the payee's bank within an hour, but the payee's bank credits the account on its own schedule, and intermediaries can add a day. Expect the same day to two business days.
• SWIFT wire in EUR. Swift says over 90% of its payments reach the payee's bank within an hour, but the payee's bank credits the account on its own schedule, and intermediaries can add a day. Expect the same day to two business days.
• SWIFT wire in GBP. Swift says over 90% of its payments reach the payee's bank within an hour, but the payee's bank credits the account on its own schedule, and intermediaries can add a day. Expect the same day to two business days.
• USDC or USDT to a wallet. A stablecoin transfer is final in seconds to minutes, depending on the network, at any hour. A payout to a bank account then waits for that bank's rail.

How to get paid faster

Most delays are on the payee's side of a SWIFT payment, at intermediaries and the receiving bank. Local account details let your customers pay you on their own domestic rail instead: SEPA Instant for euros, Faster Payments for pounds and ACH or Fedwire for dollars. Align gives companies named EUR, GBP, USD and AED account details in their own name. If a payment is already late, the payment troubleshooter tells you what to check.

An estimate from each rail's published rules and holidays. Banks can hold a payment for checks, and their own cut-offs and processing days apply.