Occasionally, foreign travel or another payment situation may require the alternate payment method of a wire transfer.

What is a Wire Transfer?

A Wire Transfer is an electronic transfer of funds from a UC Davis bank account to the bank account of a supplier. Funds being wired can be U.S. Dollars or foreign currency to either a U.S. or Foreign Bank. Nothing is mailed from Accounts Payable.  

Wire transfers are not a preferred payment method, but may be required in the case of paying foreign (non-US) suppliers/payees.  See the Preferred Payment Methods page, and encourage the supplier to enroll in one of these methods whenever possible, in lieu of wire transfers.

Minimum Dollar Amounts for Requests

The Accounts Payable Disbursements Team does not process wire payment requests under $100.  Reducing low dollar and nonessential wire transfer payments allows our Disbursements Team to better serve you by focusing on wire requests that are absolutely necessary. 

Ensure Request is Valid and Legitimate

Before the wire transfer form is completed and submitted, the fiscal officer responsible for the applicable account is to carefully review the supplier/payee information to ensure the wire transfer request is valid. 

• Are the email addresses accurate? 
• Does the supplier information match what is in the Aggie Enterprise supplier record?  
• Is the supplier asking for "immediate payment" or indicating "urgency" in making the payment?  A sense of urgency is often attempted by fraudsters attempting to defraud the university.

In order to ensure the request is legitimate, always carefully review any associated invoices and contact information.  

It is very important to verify the legitimacy of the supplier/payee before funds are transferred.

Bank Information Required for Wire Transfers

• Complete name of the bank (i.e. BANK OF AMERICA not BOFA)
• Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) address or American Bankers Association (ABA) Number
• Bank State (for U.S. Bank)
• Bank Country
• Bank Account Number
• Name of person assigned to bank account
• Type of currency, if other than U.S. Dollar

Note: For security purposes, the information entered on the Wire Transfer form is not visible to other approvers or viewers of that document. The staff in Accounts Payable (AP) who process the Wire Transfer WILL be able to view and process the information.  

Specific Required Bank Information for Frequently-Cited Countries

• Australia:  BSB and Account Number
• Canada:  Bank ID, Transit Number, and Account  Number
• India:  IFSC
• Mexico:  CLABE Number
• New Zealand:  NCC

Timelines for Wire Transfers

For the complete processing time, from time of request completion to payment appearing in supplier bank account, the turnaround time can be about 30 days.