If your bank is located in New Zealand, your bank will transfer NZD as a domestic payment/local Electronic Transfer with low or no cost.

If your bank is located outside of New Zealand, your bank may only offer an international bank transfer (SWIFT) to transfer NZD which will generate bank charges.

Local Electronic Funds Transfer

If you transfer from a financial institution located in New Zealand, they usually process your NZD payment as a local transfer.

By entering the full 15 or 16-digit bank account number which contains the bank code, branch code and our IBKR bank account numbers, the system will automatically recognize it as local and process the payment accordingly.

SWIFT payment for a sender bank outside New Zealand

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication - SWIFT - is a network that allows banks to communicate financial information securely.

SWIFT payments are offered by most banks for international money transfers, and involve a series of banks which work together to make sure your money arrives at your account.

If you transfer NZD from a financial institution outside of New Zealand, they may require the use of an intermediary or a correspondent bank to route the payment through before reaching our bank account. These are called cross-border payments.

Bank transfers can take time to complete, particularly when it comes to cross-border payments. Clients are increasingly accustomed to a payments experience that feels instant, but making a payment to another country can be much more complex and time-consuming.

Processing bank transfers involves a number of steps, particularly for cross-border payments. After being initiated, a wire transfer is sent by the debtor agent to an intermediary bank before moving on to the creditor agent. Once these steps are complete, the recipient will receive their funds.

There are a number of reasons why cross-border payments may be delayed or held up. First, not all account balances can be updated outside the operating hours of local settlement systems. Delays can also arise if compliance checks need to be carried out, especially when a payment passes through different countries and jurisdictions. In order to avoid delays in processing your fund deposits, please include your IBKR Account number and your full name in the transaction payment which allows our system to apply the funds into your IBKR account as soon as possible.  

Difference between domestic and international bank transfers

Banks make a local electronic funds transfer to send funds to financial institutions residing in the same country or financial zone. When sending funds to financial institutions in a foreign country or financial zone, banks have to make an international bank transfer via SWIFT. The main differences between these two bank transfers are the processing time and higher costs of transfer via SWIFT.

How long does it usually take for my funds to arrive?

*Please consult with the sending institution about the costs to process your payment as this may vary by financial institution. IBKR does not charge fees for the deposit of funds.

Note: IBKR credits funds real time upon receipt under normal circumstances. Please note that we do not have influence on the speed of transfer. You may consult with the sending institution regarding their processing times and cut off times. Payments that are subject to additional review may take longer to credit.