How to transfer money from one bank to another instantly

Stop waiting for funds to land: transfer your money instantly

Today, nearly everything is instantaneous. You can order food from your phone and have it show up at your door in minutes. Order groceries online, and the charge will appear on your credit card immediately. With just a few clicks, you can order toilet paper, book a flight, even hire someone to walk your dog. Hundreds of online transactions are processed nearly instantly everyday, all over the world. Yet, when it comes to bank transfers, sending money to a bank account is far from instant.

Legacy financial institutions typically hold transferred funds for a set waiting period to ensure they have enough time to verify the source and amount of money. Essentially, they need to make sure the sender has enough money before releasing the funds to the recipient.

This is known as the ‘good funds’ model:

1. First, banks wait until they have verified that the sender actually has the money being sent to the payee.
2. Once the money has been independently verified, the funds are released into the recipient’s account.
3. This protects the bank from lost money and saves them the time and manpower required to reverse transfers in the case of NSF (not sufficient funds).

The good funds model was designed to prevent banks from becoming the victims of fraud. Unfortunately, it also means waiting and lost time for the bank’s customers. Businesses are forced to wait until their money has been released before they can pay bills, hire contractors, order inventory, or invest in new products.

Depending on the receiving country and the amount of money being sent, bank transfers can take up to 5 days to complete. That’s 120 hours you could’ve spent doing something productive with your hard earned money, instead of waiting for it to be approved, transferred, and released.

Small business owners depend on a healthy cash flow to capitalize on opportunities, partnerships, and new products as they arise. Often, waiting until you have the cash on hand just isn’t feasible.

Luckily, there are a variety of ways to send money to your bank account instantly. While you could just write yourself a check, that’s hardly a convenient method when compared to modern methods. Plus, you could still be subjected to a holding period until your money becomes available, depending on your financial institution.

Ditch the checkbook and say no to inconvenient waiting periods. Fintech is here with a variety of new solutions for transferring money that are better suited to today’s fast-paced business culture. Here are just a few payment providers offering methods to transfer money instantly.

How to transfer money to your bank account instantly

Founded back in 1998, PayPal is one of the oldest online payment providers around. The network offers instant payouts to your bank account from your PayPal account. Their Instant Transfer service allows users to access money sent from PayPal to their bank account within 30 minutes.

However, be prepared to pay steep fees for this convenience. On top of PayPal’s regular fees, Instant Transfer costs 1% of the total funds being moved (up to $10.00 USD).

Only users in the United States (with a valid US Social Security Number) at certain banks are eligible to use PayPal’s Instant Transfer feature, so don’t expect to conduct international business using this method. However, if you don’t mind paying for the convenience, PayPal’s Instant Transfer is an easy method to send money to a bank account instantly.

Wondering how Veem stacks up to PayPal? Check out how we compare. Learn more

Zelle is a unique offering in the online payment space because you might already have it on your phone. Zelle integrates directly with hundreds of bank’s mobile apps, meaning you may already have access to it through your bank or credit union.

Users can send and receive money within the US within minutes, if their recipient has already set up their Zelle account. Best of all, Zelle doesn’t charge any fees for their service. However, your bank might charge an additional fee to send or accept online transfers, so double check before you begin sending money.

Zelle is only available for American domestic payments, meaning both users must have a valid US bank account and Social Security Number (SSN). Zelle only processes payments in USD, so it isn’t ideal for international money transfers.

Another caveat to using Zelle is the dollar limit. Users can only send a total of $500 USD per week, unless their bank has specified a different amount (some financial institutions have limits as high as $2000 USD per week). Check with your specific bank or credit union to see how much money you can send per week.

Regardless of a user’s individual financial institution, Zelle maintains strict limits on the amount of money that can be sent on the platform. This is likely to abide by American financial laws that discourage money laundering, fraud, and other types of financial crimes. So if you want to move a lot of money, or want to send money to different destinations around the world, Zelle probably isn’t for you.

Despite its limitations, Zelle is an easy and convenient method for sending money within the United States. Since it integrates directly with hundreds of different banks and credit unions, it’s easy to set up and start transferring. If it doesn’t already integrate with your mobile banking app, Zelle has their own, making it available to anyone in the US with a bank account. Zelle also offers a small business functionality, allowing users to accept payments from customers quickly and easily.

Venmo

Venmo is one of the largest C2C (consumer to consumer) payment networks available. It’s incredibly convenient for paying friends back after a night out, splitting a bill with roommates, or just treating your mom to a coffee.

Venmo offers “Instant Transfer“, which allows users to skip the traditional waiting period and deposit their money within 30 minutes. Venmo’s instant transfer feature isn’t free, however; the service costs 1% of the overall amount of the transfer, with a minimum fee of 25 cents and a maximum fee of $10.00. Since Venmo is currently only available to American customers, payments must be in USD to use the Instant Transfer service. Venmo also requires users to have an American bank account, which requires a valid SSN.

WorldRemit

WorldRemit specializes in remittance transfers, which is simply another way of saying “money transfer”. WorldRemit is an excellent choice for moving money around the world, whether you’re sending it to friends, family, or another one of your own bank accounts.

While WorldRemit cannot guarantee how long your transfer will take, most payments land in the receiver’s bank account within one business day. According to the company, 50% of bank transfers are paid within 10 minutes. However, certain international transfers to countries in the EU or other regions with similarly strict AML (anti-money laundering) laws may take up to 3 business days to be available.

WorldRemit mainly deals with personal, C2C payments. However, WorldRemit for Business does allow SMBs, sole proprietorships, and other businesses to send money around the world. Payroll, invoices, and other recurring payments can all be made with WorldRemit. However, the company cannot guarantee the speed of transfers. Since business transactions are subject to strict KYC (know your customer) regulations aimed at preventing fraud, money laundering, and other financial crimes, there are additional delays. Sending money to a bank account with WorldRemit can take up to 3 days before the recipient’s money is available for use, so if you’re in a hurry, it might not be the best provider for you.

Veem

Veem’s Instant Deposit lets you deposit your funds, well, instantly. Once you activate Instant Deposit, Veem accelerates processing of all future deposits, cutting the standard bank processing period from 3-5 days to less than an hour. With cash on hand, SMBs can jump on new opportunities as they knock – not when their money is released.

How does Veem’s Instant Deposit work?

By bypassing the typical ‘good funds’ model (and its associated waiting period), Instant Deposit lets Veem users access their money within minutes, not days. Once activated, Instant Deposit immediately deposits all payments (up to certain amount) directly to a linked debit card.

Veem users can choose a maximum amount that will be immediately deposited to their bank account. If a payment received is over the specified maximum, the money will be transferred to the bank account linked to your Veem account, just like a regular payment received on our network. The Instant Deposit feature can be turned off and on from the Veem Dashboard, under your Funding Settings.

Am I eligible for Instant Deposit?

Instant Deposit is only available for Veem users in the United States, with a valid American SSN. Payments using Instant Deposit must be within the US and be sent in USD. There is no monetary limit associated with using Instant Deposit, so users can immediately access all of their money sent from American payers.

What does Instant Deposit cost?

The fee to use Instant Deposit is 1.5% of the total received payment, with a minimum fee of $1.50 USD per transaction. Veem accounts are free to set up and maintain, and there are no annual transfer volume limits required. Veem users enjoy dedicated client support, end to end payment tracking, and integrations with popular software such as Quickbooks, Xero, and Netsuite.

Learn more about Instant Deposit fees or learn more about  Veem.

Tired of waiting for payday?

With Veem, you can get paid even faster. Veem Capital’s Paid Now, Pay Later allows small businesses access to the working capital they need to expand. Apply right from the Veem dashboard and get approved in minutes.

Paid Now allows businesses to get paid instantly for invoices due in the future. You can offer payment terms to your customers interest free, without the hassle of collections and non payment. Once approved, select a bill that you’d like to get paid now, and Veem will advance you the funds. Then, your customer will have 30 days interest free to pay back the invoice. Your cash flow remains strong, and your customers stay happy.

Pay Later enables US businesses to select bills that you want Veem to pay now while giving you the flexibility to pay off over time. Pay Later gives Veem users an easy way to capitalize on new opportunities while protecting their cash flow. Enrolled users get 30 days interest free to pay back bills, purchase inventory, or invest in new products.

Wait, what’s Veem?

Veem is the only global payment network designed with the needs of small businesses in mind. As a start-up ourselves, we know the importance of transparency, security, and speed when sending money. So, we built an online payment network that enables businesses to expand and grow on their own terms. With your funds at your fingertips, growth is up to you – not your cash flow. Just Veem it, and it’s paid.

See how Veem can make your business payments simple. LEARN MORE

* This blog provides general information and discussion about global business payments and related subjects. The content provided in this blog ("Content”), should not be construed as and is not intended to constitute financial, legal or tax advice. You should seek the advice of professionals prior to acting upon any information contained in the Content. All Content is provided strictly “as is” and we make no warranty or representation of any kind regarding the Content.

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