# What is the point of wire transfers?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-wire-transfers/237315>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 30, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-wire-transfers/237315 "2004-03-30T15:18:34Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-wire-transfers/237315/1 "2004-03-30T15:18:34Z")

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I signed up for a mutual fund account the other day, and I could fund it through wire transfer or by ACH (like direct deposit). I chose ACH, because it’s simpler (since I don’t have to deal with my bank) and no extra fees apply. Why would someone use a wire transfer?

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**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-wire-transfers/237315/2 "2004-03-30T15:41:24Z")

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I believe wire transfers post significantly quicker (at least that’s been my experience), and some institutions place limits on the sice of ACH transfers (for example, Vanguard caps them at $100k).

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**Author:** ![fezpp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fezpp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fezpp)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-wire-transfers/237315/3 "2004-03-30T15:47:00Z")

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Ok, so what I was going to say before the Hamsters ate my post was…  
In the UK we have BACS ( Bankers’ Automated Clearing Service) and CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payments System).  
BACS can only be used up to a limited amount and takes a few days if transferring between accounts at different banks (although between two accounts at the same bank it is pretty quick).  
From **Metacom**'s post it sounds like BACS is the equivalent of ACH while CHAPS is your wire transfer.

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**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-wire-transfers/237315/4 "2004-03-30T16:08:09Z")

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Are you asking only in terms of this account or about wire transfers in general? In general, wire transfers are more easily accessible to the recipient.

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**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\
**Post date:** [March 30, 2004, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-point-of-wire-transfers/237315/5 "2004-03-30T18:40:31Z")

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Bank wires have been around pretty much since the day the telegraph was invented. Maybe not exactly so, but they’ve been around a long, long time, and odds are excellent that if a bank has US currency in its vault, it’s in the FEDWIRE system.

ACH (Automated Clearing House) is a relative newcomer. Not every bank and every brokerage is a participant in the ACH network. Like everything else in banking, this costs money - the ones that aren’t in the ACH system have to go through intermediary banks. Just as you have to pay a buck-fifty to use another bank’s ATM, non-ACH banks have to pay the intermediary, so they don’t like to do it if they don’t have to.