What is Fedwire?
Fedwire (formerly known as the Federal Reserve Wire Network) is a real-time gross settlement funds transfer system operated by the United States Federal Reserve Banks that allows financial institutions to electronically transfer funds between its more than 9,289 participants (as of March 19, 2009). Transfers can only be initiated by the sending bank once they receive the proper wiring instructions from the receiving bank. These instructions include: the receiving bank’s routing number, account number, name and dollar amount being transferred. This information is submitted to the Federal Reserve via the Fedwire system. Once the instructions are received and processed, the Fed will debit the funds from the sending bank’s reserve account and credit the receiving bank’s account. Wire transfers sent via Fedwire are completed in the same day, while some are completed instantly.