• Overseas Offices
• International Banking Services
  • International Payments
    • Making an International Payment
    • Receiving an International Payment
  • Currency Accounts
  • Importing and Exporting Advice
  • Travellers Cheques and Foreign Currency

Making an International Payment

Secure, reliable and efficient

• Express payments
• Foreign drafts

Bank of Scotland offers a range of products for making international payments in a way that best suits your business.

Express payments

The Bank of Scotland Express Payment Service is our fastest method of making international payments. Payments can be sent securely in all major foreign currencies and sterling through our extensive network of correspondent banks to most destinations across the world.

Payments can easily be made via:

• Corporate Online for a reduced charge
• Telephone Banking service
• A completed payment form posted or faxed to your Relationship Manager or business contact centre

We aim to process payments the same day if received by Payment & International Services before noon by post/fax or if via Corporate Internet Banking before 2.45pm for euro or 5pm for US dollars. All payments received after this time will be processed within one working day. Euro, US dollar and Canadian dollar payments will usually be available to our correspondent banks within 24 hours and within two days for all other currencies*.

To make an Express Payment you will need to provide the following information:

• The currency and amount of the payment
• The name of the person or company who is receiving the payment (the beneficiary)
• Full bank account details of the beneficiary, including
  
  • The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) which is the preferred format, or alternatively, use the account number
  • The Bank Identifier Code (BIC) which is the preferred format, or alternatively, use the national bank ID or sort code
• How the charges will be paid

IBAN and BIC

From January 2007, it is likely that banks may reject euro payments to and from EU/EEA** countries if they do not include the beneficiary IBAN and BIC details. Therefore, when you are sending a payment to one of your suppliers within the EU/EEA, you should obtain the relevant IBAN and BIC numbers and quote these when sending payments from your account. Please download the IBAN and BIC document for further information.

Foreign drafts

Foreign drafts can be used when a paper based method of international payment is requested or for low value, non-urgent international payments. Foreign drafts can be issued in a foreign currency or sterling and are drawn on a bank within the country of the beneficiary. Euro drafts can only be drawn in countries which have adopted the euro.

Foreign drafts can be instructed by the methods outlined above for Express Payments.

*The actual date when the beneficiary is credited may vary according to local banking practices or any time zone differences and is outwith our control.

**EU/EEA countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Holland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

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