Chase Wire Transfer Review 2024 (2024)

Chase wire transfers are available only to the bank’s account holders, which limits who can use the service. So, if you’re a Chase account holder, should you use the bank’s wire transfer option?

If you have a higher-tier account, you should consider using Chase’s wire transfer feature. That’s because the bank’s higher-tier accounts don’t charge wire transfer fees. Otherwise, you might want to seek an alternative.

Wire transfers aren’t available to holders of Chase Secure Checking and Chase First Checking accounts. Holders of other types of accounts at Chase can take advantage of wire transfers, though. Some of these accounts charge transfer fees, ranging from $5 to $50 per transaction.

But holders of higher-tier Chase Premier Plus Checking, Chase Sapphire Checking, Chase Private Client Checking and Chase Private Client Savings accounts can carry out wire transfers without paying fees.

Chase’s wire service also may be appealing to someone who sends international transfers, since they can be made in local currency in more than 90 countries if you have a personal account at Chase.

Chase processes wire transfer requests from personal accounts the same business day if they’re initiated by 4 p.m. Eastern time. If a transfer is requested after the cut-off time, Chase will process it the following business day.

Before Chase sends a wire transfer, the request goes through an internal review process, and in some cases the bank might need to contact the sender to verify your request. After Chase has sent the wire, the receiving bank might initiate its own review process.

Chase allows a customer to send a wire transfer online, via mobile app or at a branch. You may be able to do a wire transfer over the phone if you’ve already selected the phone as your backup method for initiating a funds transfer. To initiate an online transfer, you must be enrolled in Chase Online; for an app transfer, you must be enrolled in Chase Mobile.

The bank offers these steps for carrying out a domestic wire transfer through its mobile app:

The bank offers these steps for carrying out an international wire transfer through its mobile app:

Chase stands out from at least one competitor, Bank of America, in terms of the ability to send a wire transfer via mobile app. Bank of America doesn’t offer app-initiated wire transfers.

However, unlike various money transfer services, Chase doesn’t let money from transferred cash be picked up at a physical location (such as a Western Union office), be delivered to a recipient’s home or be sent from mobile device to mobile device.

Future and Recurring Wire Transfers

Chase lets you schedule future and recurring domestic wire transfers from a personal account. You can set up a future transfer or recurring transfer as much as 365 days in advance. This feature isn’t available for international wire transfers from personal accounts.

On its fee schedule, Chase clearly lays out how much you’ll pay for an outgoing wire transfer.

Before sending a transfer online or via app, you must verify your identity by email or phone with a Chase authorization code. Once your identity is verified, you’ll need to add the recipient’s name, address, account number and bank routing number. Depending on the country, you may need to supply additional information.

Chase’s mobile app can be downloaded at no cost from the App Store or Google Play. It can be used on Apple and Android devices.

Below, Chase outlines which browsers and operating systems are ideal for online transactions.

A Chase customer can reach customer support by phone, via email (using secure messaging within your online account) or at a bank branch. You also can use the Chase Digital Assistant on the bank’s mobile app.

A call to Chase’s customer service phone number for personal banking was answered by a polite, friendly agent within a minute or so, once we got past the automated system. In all, we spent between five and 10 minutes on the phone.

It’s worth noting that unless you already have an account, it’s hard to pin down certain details about wire transfers when you call customer service. But if you’re an account holder, you’re able to find out information that’s specific to your situation.

So, how did the agent do during our brief call? Our primary question dealt with dollar limits for wire transfers. The agent gave a definitive daily limit for wire transfers, but that answer may or may not have applied to our specific account type. A Chase PR representative explains that dollar limits depend on the type of account and the method being used to send the funds.

Here’s how Chase compares with three wire transfer competitors.

Chase vs. Bank of America

The big difference between Chase and Bank of America is that Chase allows wire transfers via mobile app, whereas Bank of America does not. But while Chase offers fee-free transfers for some customers, its highest transfer fee is $50, compared with $45 at Bank of America. Overall, Chase’s process for sending a wire transfer is less complicated than Bank of America’s.

Chase vs. Western Union

At Chase, a wire transfer must be sent from one of its accounts to a recipient’s bank account. By contrast, Western Union enables transfers to a recipient’s bank account or mobile wallet, or to a Western Union location. At the other end of the spectrum, Chase’s schedule for transfer fees is much easier to understand than Western Union’s.

Chase vs. Xoom

Chase benefits from supplying an easier-to-understand fee schedule than Xoom does. However, Xoom provides more flexibility. It offers more payment methods for senders (bank account, debit card or credit card) and more ways for someone to receive wired money (pickup, delivery or direct deposit).

It’s worth noting that Xoom does not offer wire transfers, but does offer money transfers. Wire transfers tend to go through the banking system, while money transfers do not.