How to Start a Bank Transfer From Your Home Account to Your Rwanda Account

So you want to do a wire transfer?  Not a problem, especially if you are transferring large amounts of money. While this is costly, this is one of the safest methods to transfer money.  We will walk you through what you need to know.

Step 1:  Contact your bank at home (you would want to talk to a customer representative).  Ask specifically for details for international bank to bank wire transfer.  You want to know your banks’ protocols for this.  Each bank is different.  Some will let you complete the entire process online with proper verifications, others may require other communication.

When you talk to your bank you want to make sure you ask the following:

• If they only perform USD to USD account transfers, or if they will do USD to local currency transfers (rwf).
• What is the charge for your wire transfer? Is it a percentage or is it a one-time fee?
• What is the estimated time for transfer, usually it is 3-5 days, however sometimes for additional charge it can move faster.

Note:  When you call your home bank they may ask you for your Rwanda banks swift number or IBAN number.  You can simply google your banks name and “swift code” and you will get it.

A SWIFT code — sometimes also called a SWIFT number — is a standard format for Business Identifier Codes (BIC). It’s used to identify banks and financial institutions globally. It says who and where they are — a sort of international bank code or ID.

Step 2:  At this point you can go ahead and start the transfer process, based upon your US banking institution’s details.  You will need your account number for your Rwanda bank and make sure you use the correct one.

Some banks have a receiving fee (Bank of Kigali), some may not.  Make sure you have checked with your bank to see if they have a receiving fee for transfers.

Bank to Bank Wire transfers is one of the more costly ways to transfer money, but it is efficient and completes the tasks.  When you first start, you may want to use this especially if you are transferring a large amount of money.