Giro international

Send money abroad from Switzerland

Transfer money to an account abroad easily with Giro international. You can choose yourself how long it should take for the recipient to receive the money. Within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), credit transfers with e-finance are free.

Giro international: international payments made easy

  • Worldwide transfers in e-finance, by written standing order or at your Swiss Post branch

  • Free euro credit transfers as per SEPA standard in e-finance

  • Generally credited to the recipient institution in one to two banking days

  • “Urgent” option for urgent credit transfers in EUR, USD, CHF, CAD, GBP, NOK, SEK, CZK, HUF, PLN, ZAR

  • Real-time tracking: keep track of payments in real time and always see the latest status of fees as well as the amount actually transferred.

  • You transfer the amount from your private account

    • Enter the foreign IBAN/account details under “Enter payment” in e-finance and enter as a payment, in case of electronic capturing until noon on a weekday the payment will be processed on the same day without additional costs
    • With a standing order (electronic or written)
    • Complete the Giro international inpayment slip and pay at the post office using a PostFinance Card

    Payment currency

    You decide in which currency the amount should be credited abroad. Standard procedure is for the amount to be converted into the currency of the destination country. Crediting the amount in CHF (payment currency CHF) is worthwhile only if the end beneficiary’s account abroad is a CHF account.

    Speed of international transfers

    • Giro international SEPA: account credited within a maximum of one banking day as of the debit date
    • Giro international worldwide: account credited in 1-2 working days
    • Giro international URGENT: generally on the same banking day, best possible execution. Some recipient banks may not execute the credit immediately. This is beyond PostFinance’s control.

    IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and BIC (Bank Identifier Code)

    SEPA payments can be executed exclusively with an IBAN – the BIC does not have to be provided anymore. For other transfers, the account number and the BIC or a country-specific code are mandatory. A Giro international (without urgent) to the USA, Canada, Australia, India and China requires a country-specific code if the payment currency matches the currency of the country of the recipient bank. Countries for which the IBAN is mandatory are marked in the IBAN country list.

    PostFinance’s BIC is POFICHBEXXX

    Real-time tracking of your international payments

    Use the tracking function to keep track of your international payments in real time until they reach the recipient bank. You can also keep track of fees and the amount actually transferred at all times.

    • Keep track of outgoing international payments in e-finance in real time. To do this, select the “Tracking” function in the payment details.
    • View the status of your payment at any time and always see the latest status of fees as well as the amount actually credited to the recipient bank abroad. The display of this information is dependent on voluntary feedback from the banks involved in SWIFT’s tracking service.
    • SEPA payments are excluded from tracking.
    • This service is available free of charge to all PostFinance customers.
  • Basic costs for credit transfers in e-finance or with a written standing order

    Credit transfer typePrice
    Credit transfer type
    Credit transfer in e-finance within the SEPA area
    Price
    Free of charge
    Credit transfer type
    Credit transfer in e-finance for all other countries
    Price

    CHF 2

    CHF 12 (URGENT)

    Credit transfer type
    Transfers by written standing order
    Price

    CHF 5

    CHF 15 (URGENT)

    Note: credit transfers with Giro international are automatically checked to ensure that they meet SEPA requirements.

    Basic costs for inpayments at the post office counter

    Inpayment typePrice
    Inpayment type
    Inpayment with PostFinance Card
    Price

    CHF 12

    CHF 22 (URGENT)

    Third-party fee regulation

    Giro international worldwide

    Fees charged to the recipient/shared cost
    Fees are incurred for credit transfers abroad, which may be charged by the banks involved. These fees are normally deducted directly from the amount. The beneficiary therefore does not receive the full credit transfer amount.

    Charges paid by the client (our cost)
    All third-party fees for transferring money to the recipient bank are payable by the client as part of a flat fee of CHF 20 (+ basic costs). The recipient bank is credited with the full amount (see credit fees).

    Giro international SEPA

    Third-party fee payment is not possible as deductions from the credit transfer amount are not authorized.

    Credit fees

    Please note that recipient banks can charge their customers a fee for credits received via SEPA and for worldwide payments (irrespective of the charging option). This is beyond PostFinance’s control.

      • Giro international SEPA: within a maximum of one banking day from the debit date
      • Giro international: within one to two working days
      • Giro international urgent: generally on the same day; best-possible execution. Some recipient banks may not execute the credit immediately. This is beyond PostFinance’s control.
    • With Giro international (SEPA) third-party fee payment is not possible as deductions from the credit transfer amount are not authorized.

    • Fees charged to the recipient/shared cost: fees may be charged by involved banks for credit transfers abroad. These fees are usually charged to the beneficiary, i.e. fees are deducted from the amount. The beneficiary therefore does not receive the full transfer amount.

      Fees charged to the client/our cost: all third-party fees for transferring money to the recipient bank are payable by the client as part of a flat fee of CHF 20 (plus basic costs). The recipient bank is credited with the full amount.

    • Please note that certain recipient banks can charge their customers a fee for credits received via SEPA and for worldwide payments (irrespective of the charging option). This is beyond PostFinance’s control.

    • You decide in which currency the amount should be credited abroad. Standard procedure is for the amount to be converted into the currency of the destination country. Crediting the amount in CHF (payment currency CHF) is worthwhile only if the end beneficiary’s account abroad is a CHF account.

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