International Wire Processing Enhancements
FAQs
Overview
Q. What are the benefits of sending international wires through Premier View?
A. Alloya has selected an international wire processing provider, Western Union, a true partner to financial
institutions and not a competitor. With trading offices on multiple continents, Western Union is the world’s
largest foreign exchange specialist and non-bank provider of international payments.
In conjunction, Alloya has an international wire module in Premier View that offers real-time foreign
exchange rate quotes, a foreign bank directory and streamlined processing. International wires follow the
same processing flow as domestic wire transfers. Experience the same administration, transaction history and
review screen functionality. Because the terminology and processing operate like other areas of Premier View
it is easy to use. By combining the functionality in Premier View with the technology of Western Union this
international wire process is among the best offered in the financial services industry.
Q. What is the advantage of sending International Wires through Premier View to my credit union and
members?
A. Advantages include:
 Offer Savings to Your Members – More favorable exchange rates mean more money in your members’
pockets.
 Shaped by Credit Unions – Guidance from a pilot group of your peers will help ensure that key
functions and have been built into the system.
 Save Time – Easy-to-use Premier View payment entry screens will offer streamlined processing. An
online indicator takes the guesswork out of transfers, suggesting the best currency type for each country.
 Familiar Look and Feel – Log on to Premier View to perform International Wires transfers using an
interface that is similar to the online Domestic Wires program.
Q. Are the exchange rates competitive?
A. Our partnership with Western Union allows us to share wholesale exchange rates with your credit union.
This means your credit union will be able to offer better exchange rates to your members than most bank
retail rates.
Q. Why are your rates higher than the interbank rate shown on the Internet?
A. There is no single trading center for foreign currency. Instead, an informal network of large banks and
currency brokerage firms trade among themselves and establish the interbank rate. The interbank rate is only
available to central banks (Federal Reserve Bank, government entities). Additional margins are added to the
interbank rate to generate wholesale or retail rates for other financial institutions, companies and individuals.
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International Wire Processing Enhancements
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Understanding Foreign Wire Transactions
Q. What is the benefit of sending wires in foreign currency?
A. Often, U.S. dollar wires are sent to accounts at foreign financial institutions. However in many instances, a
foreign currency international wire would have been more appropriate. The benefit of sending foreign
currency wires is that Alloya’s foreign exchange rate is better than the rate the foreign financial institution
will use. Additionally, the conversion is immediate, so you and your member know the exact dollar amount
that the beneficiary is going to receive for the wire. Also, there should not be any currency conversion fees
assessed by the foreign financial institution. As a result, the beneficiary should receive more funds.
When sending funds in U.S. Dollars, the remitter has no control or knowledge over what the exchange rate
from the receiving foreign bank. Typically, foreign banks charge significantly higher exchange rates to
convert incoming U.S. dollar wires than U.S. financial institutions charge to convert U.S. dollars into foreign
currency. Additional fees for processing the currency conversion are charged by the receiving bank as well.
It is also important to establish the currency in which the account is held. Most international bank accounts
are held in the local currency of the country where the account resides. Americans living in the U.S. have U.S.
Dollar accounts; likewise Germans who live in Germany have Euro accounts, etc.
Q. How do I know if I should send foreign currency or U.S. Dollars?
A. Local currency should almost always be sent unless the beneficiary has a U.S. Dollar account or the local
currency is not shown as “available” in Premier View. In most cases, money sent overseas in U.S. dollars is
converted by the foreign bank into the local currency of the country. But if the money is sent overseas in the
local currency, the funds can be immediately credited to the receiver’s account, usually saving up to two days
of transaction processing time by the foreign bank. In addition, by sending payments in the local currency,
your member can lock in an exact exchange rate on the day of the transfer, take control over the process,
reduce any hidden costs, and have the security of knowing the exact value of the payment will be delivered to
the beneficiary bank. It should be noted that the beneficiary may still be subject to normal account processing
fees.
Premier View has a built-in notification process that helps users select the appropriate foreign currency for a
specific country. If you select U.S. Dollars to be sent to a foreign country listed in our “preferred local
currency list,” the system will provide the appropriate foreign currency and exchange rate quote.
NOTE: At the end of this document is a list of countries Alloya have identified as being most beneficial for
receipt of wires in local currency.
Q. So, should I always select the foreign currency type when sending a wire?
A. No. First, attempt to verify with the sender or beneficiary the type of account the beneficiary holds in the
foreign country: a U.S. Dollar account or a foreign currency account. Not all countries have a sophisticated
banking system. For example, it is recommended to send U.S. Dollars to places such as China, India, South
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Korea, the Philippines, Eastern Europe and even Mexico. The local bank will then transfer the funds into local
currency. In some countries, like China, the bank may issue a draft and send payment through the mail.
Again, Premier View has a built-in notification process that helps you select the appropriate foreign currency
for a specific country. If you select U.S. Dollars to be sent to a foreign country listed in our “preferred local
currency list,” the system will provide the appropriate foreign currency and exchange rate quote.
Q. My credit union has a policy to send international wires only in U.S. dollars. What should I do when
I receive the preferred local currency notification in Premier View.?
A. It is recommended that you amend your policy to allow wires sent to the countries in the preferred local
currency list to be processed in the local currency. The beneficiary will receive more funds and have fewer
fees taken out of the wire as shown in the illustration above. You may want to develop a process to inform
your member of the exchange rate used, but it is not necessary. Historically, when you send U.S. dollar wires,
your member is not able to confirm the exchange rate or fees with the foreign financial institution.
Q. Are there special requirements for certain countries?
A. Yes.
 Wires to Mexico must include the CLABE in the beneficiary account number field.
 Wires to Euroland must include the IBAN in the beneficiary account number field.
Q. When can the beneficiary expect to receive the funds in their account?
A. Processing times vary by country. However, if funds are sent in the local currency, it will usually be
processed more quickly because the funds do not have to be converted by the local institution. In general,
funds sent in US Dollars to accounts that are established in the local currency typically take 1-5 days longer to
process by the foreign financial institution.
Q. What do I do if the beneficiary does not receive the payment?
A. Some foreign institutions require that the beneficiary contact them or complete a form prior to the release
of the funds. If the beneficiary has not already done so, please have them contact the receiving institution. If
this step is taken and funds are still not available to the beneficiary, please contact Members Services to
request a trace.
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International Wire Processing Enhancements
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Premier View Tools
Q. How do I learn how to use the international wire functionality in Premier View?
A. A quick-tips guide is available in the Help center on Premier View. Also free system training sessions are
offered by Alloya.
Q. How do I obtain the foreign exchange rate?
A. Foreign exchange rates are available in Premier View and are posted in real time. Each rate quote request
is valid for 15 minutes. The system is designed to provide extremely competitive rates for wire transfers via
an online quote interface that updates regularly.
Q. What countries can I send to?
A. Eligible participating countries are listed in the drop-down list in the international wire transaction screen
of Premier View. A list (subject to change) is also available in Premier View Help under International Wires.
Q. What is the preferred currency notification?
A. Premier View has a built-in notification process that helps users select the appropriate foreign currency
when sending wires to countries that typically do not have U.S. Dollar accounts. If you select U.S. Dollars to
be sent to a foreign country listed in our “preferred local currency list,” the system will provide the
appropriate foreign currency and exchange rate quote.
If you have confirmed that the beneficiary account is a U.S. Dollar account at the foreign financial institution,
and you must send U.S. dollars to a country that is included in the preferred currency list, you must take
additional steps. You must either call Member Services to complete your transaction manually, or establish a
template within Premier View and process your transaction via the template. Research has shown that less
than 1% of all foreign currency transactions to these designated countries will fall into this category, so your
processing within Premier View should be impacted only slightly, if at all.
Q. How do I locate a foreign bank?
A. Your member will need to provide the full routing instructions for this payment, including the bank name,
bank address, SWIFT, beneficiary name, address and account number. Premier View has a bank look-up tool
that also allows you to search for the bank information and validate financial institution information prior to
submitting the transaction for processing.
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Q. Can I cancel an international wire transaction already submitted through Premier View?
A. No. Once you SUBMIT a transaction in Premier View the transaction cannot be cancelled. Typically, a
transaction is processed quickly. Once it has been processed, the only way to attempt to recover the funds is
to request a recall. However, recall requests are at the discretion of the foreign receiving institution. Contact
Members Services immediately if a recall or cancellation is required.
Note: There may be a small window of opportunity to cancel an international wire transaction based on our
processing timeline; however there will be a cancellation fee assessed. If the wire was requested in foreign
currency, there may also be additional losses due to possible changes in the foreign currency exchange rates.
Contact Members Services immediately if a recall or cancellation is required.
Exceptions for cancelling a wire following the Dodd-Frank International Remittance Transfer regulation is
permissible.
Q. How does Premier View make repetitive payments more efficient?
A. We recommend you create templates for frequently recurring international wire payments. Templates
allow you to save all information on the payment with the exception of the dollar amount. So, you can easily
“retrieve” the saved information when processing your next payment.
Q. What are the cut-off times for international wire processing?
A. International wires must be created and approved 7:00 am-4:00 pm ET Monday through Friday. Next-day
transactions are not available at this time but are being evaluated as a future product enhancement.
Q. What security features are available in Premier View for international wires?
A. All international wires created in Premier View by credit union staff require dual approval. Premier View
will be accessed by your credit union with your user ID, password and token. You will also still be required to
enter in your PIN to perform an international wire transaction (for wires created from templates, only). Wires
called into Alloya may be subject to a call back for verification.
You also are able to establish dollar limits for each user. Credit unions that are “self-administered” can edit
each user and enter a transaction limit. Credit unions that are administered by Alloya can complete a Premier
View Authorities form for each user to request appropriate transaction limits.
Q. What are my OFAC responsibilities?
A. The credit union is responsible for checking all originator, beneficiary, and financial institution
information against the OFAC SDN list prior to entering the payment into Premier View. As a processor of
your payment, Alloya will also check the transaction against OFAC and may need to contact your credit
union for additional information in order to complete processing of the transaction.
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Preferred Local Currency List
The countries listed below do not typically have U.S. Dollar accounts within their financial institutions. When
sending wires to these countries it is recommended to send the local currency unless you are certain the
beneficiary account is a U.S. Dollar account at the foreign financial institution.
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•
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•
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•
•
•
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•
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AT Austria EUR Euro
BE Belgium EUR Euro
CY Cyprus EUR Euro
DE Germany EUR Euro
DK Denmark DKK Danish Kroner
ES Spain EUR Euro
FI Finland EUR Euro
FR France EUR Euro
GR Greece EUR Euro
IE Ireland EUR Euro
IT Italy EUR Euro
LU Luxembourg EUR Euro
MT Malta EUR Euro
NL Netherlands EUR Euro
PT Portugal EUR Euro
SK Slovakia EUR Euro
SI Slovenia EUR Euro
GB United Kingdom GBP British Pound
NO Norway NOK Norwegian Kroner
SE Sweden SEK Swedish Kronor
YT Mayotte EUR Euro
Not all countries have a sophisticated banking system. For example, it is recommended to send U.S. Dollars
to places such as China, India, South Korea, Philippines, Eastern Europe and even Mexico. The local bank
will then transfer the funds into local currency. In some countries, like China, the bank may issue a draft and
send payment through the mail.
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