When you send money abroad, your bank may ask who should pay the transfer fees. Choose carefully if you’re paying an invoice: charges deducted along the way can leave your supplier short, even when you send the full invoice amount.
The choices are often labeled OUR, SHA and BEN. Here is how each assigns charges, with a 1,000 EUR example and questions to ask before paying.
Why another bank can charge for your payment
An intermediary bank, also called a correspondent bank, helps move a payment when the sending and receiving banks lack a direct connection. In a Swift transfer, money may pass through several banks. Wise’s help guidance says those banks can change between payments, and the recipient’s bank can charge its own incoming-payment fee.[1]
Check where each charge will appear. A bank might deduct it from the payment before crediting the recipient, or charge an account separately. HSBC Hong Kong warns that some overseas charges can be taken from either the payment or the recipient’s account.[4]
What the three fee options mean
| Option | Who is meant to pay | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| OUR | You, the sender, pay your bank’s charges and charges from intermediary and receiving banks. | Which charges are included now, and which might be billed later? |
| SHA | You pay your bank’s charges. The recipient pays charges from other banks involved. | How much might be deducted before or after the account is credited? |
| BEN | The recipient pays all transfer charges, including the sending bank’s charge. | How much will remain after those charges? |
SHA does not mean that each person pays half. It assigns different banks’ charges to different people. Availability also depends on the service and destination. Lloyds, for example, restricts its charging option to SHA for payments sent within the European Economic Area. Your provider must confirm the choices for your payment.[2]
What to check before choosing OUR
OUR asks for charges to be paid by the sender, but the code alone does not guarantee the recipient’s final amount. Wise’s documentation for Swift global-currency transfers says intermediary or recipient banks may ignore or not support the instruction. HSBC Hong Kong also warns that overseas banks can make deductions regardless of the option originally selected.[3][4]
Your total spending can also change. HSBC UK’s business price list says it cannot tell customers every other bank’s charge in advance. With OUR, it charges the sender’s account for amounts claimed by intermediary or recipient banks. Ask whether your provider quotes a fixed total or passes on later charges.[5]
If a supplier must receive 1,000 EUR, ask for a written answer: “Will 1,000 EUR remain in the recipient’s account after all payment charges, and what happens if less arrives?” Check any guarantee’s conditions, including whether it covers the receiving bank’s separate charge.
How charges can change a 1,000 EUR payment
| Fee choice | Sender’s total spending | Recipient’s amount after listed charges |
|---|---|---|
| OUR | 1,032 EUR | 1,000 EUR |
| SHA | 1,012 EUR | 980 EUR |
| BEN | 1,000 EUR | 968 EUR |
For SHA, the sender pays 1,000 + 12 EUR, while the recipient has 1,000 − 15 − 5 = 980 EUR. For BEN, all 32 EUR of charges reduce the recipient’s amount. OUR adds those 32 EUR to the sender’s spending under the assumptions above. If an invoice requires 1,000 EUR to arrive, the SHA and BEN examples leave a balance to resolve with the supplier.
Ask before submitting the payment
- Does this payment use Swift or another payment system, and which fee options are available?
- Does the quote include your fee, intermediary charges and the recipient’s bank charge? Which figures are estimates?
- Can any fee be charged to either account after the transfer arrives?
- If the recipient needs an exact amount, what protection does this service provide against deductions?
Use Compare with 1,000 EUR selected as the received amount when pricing an invoice from a dollar account. Enter each provider’s total charge for delivering that amount. Replace the example amount and currencies with yours, and resolve unknown deductions before treating an offer as a complete cost.
If less money arrives
Keep the quote, chosen fee option and payment confirmation. Ask the recipient to check both the credited amount and any separate bank charge. Give your provider these records and ask it to identify deductions. For a Swift transfer, request the Unique End-to-End Transaction Reference, or UETR, used to trace the payment. HSBC Hong Kong asks customers for this reference when checking an incoming telegraphic transfer.[4]
For an invoice, confirm with the supplier how it has applied the payment and what balance remains before arranging another transfer. Our overseas-invoice guide covers the currency, receiving instructions and payment deadline to agree at the outset.
Sources
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