Timing
A transfer has two clocks, and only one is advertised
Providers quote the time the money leaves. What a recipient experiences is the time it lands, and a weekend sits between the two more often than anyone admits.
16:00
typical cut-off, sending country
3 days
a Friday transfer on a long weekend
1 day
a routine compliance hold
The cut-off is the real deadline
A same-day corridor is same-day until the cut-off, which is usually early afternoon in the sending country and is rarely on the pricing page. A transfer sent at four o’clock on a Friday is a Monday transfer, and on a long weekend it is a Tuesday one.
This is not a defect. It is the settlement system doing what it does. It is worth knowing because the cost of the delay is not zero if the rate moves against you in the meantime.
Speed is a product, and it is priced
The fastest option on most corridors is a card rail, and it charges a percentage that does not fall as the amount rises. On a small urgent payment that is excellent value. On a large one the same percentage is the most expensive line on this site.
Decide which of the two you are buying before you compare the prices.
A held transfer is not a lost one
Compliance holds are routine on new corridors, new recipients and round numbers. They resolve, usually within a working day, and the money is not at risk. They do make a quoted settlement time meaningless for that transfer.