What is an intermediary bank?
An intermediary bank provides services on behalf of another bank, acting as a middleman between the sending bank and the receiving bank. National banks often use correspondent banks as agents abroad to carry out transactions initiated or completed in foreign countries.
How an Intermediary Bank Works
Adding an intermediary bank when creating a beneficiary describes the precise route a payment must take to reach the beneficiary's bank account. There is no intermediary bank for local or SEPA payments.
Examples
Example 1: Making a USD payment to a supplier in Vietnam from your iBanFirst account
The USD funds will pass through an American bank, which is the intermediary bank.
The intermediary bank will use a correspondent bank in Vietnam to send the USD payment to your Vietnamese beneficiary.
Once the payment is received, the Vietnamese correspondent bank will send USD funds to the beneficiary's bank.
Once the funds are received, the beneficiary's bank will credit the USD funds to your Vietnamese supplier's bank account.
Example 2: Receiving a USD payment from a client in Vietnam to your iBanFirst account
The beneficiary's bank account is your iBanFirst account.
When setting up the payment with their bank, your client MUST indicate iBanFirst's intermediary bank, which is ING Belgium, as the intermediary bank.
Risks of Not Adding an Intermediary Bank for Sending International Payments
Not specifying the intermediary bank can have the following consequences:
Increased payment processing time.
Funds lost and not received by the beneficiary.
Funds automatically converted to the local currency (usually at a poor exchange rate) if the payment currency is different from the currency of the country where the beneficiary's bank is located.
Where to Find iBanFirst's Intermediary Bank Details for Receiving International Payments
iBanFirst's intermediary bank details are available on the Account > Account Details screen.
