[Glossary](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary) Fedwire # What is Fedwire? Fedwire Fedwire is the Federal Reserve’s real-time gross settlement service for US dollar transfers between banks. Each payment settles individually in central-bank money, usually the same business day, and is final. It is the high-value cousin of ACH. Your ledger still holds the customer wallet until you send. ## How does Fedwire work? The sending bank submits a transfer to the Fed. The Fed moves balances on its books and notifies the receiving bank. There is no ACH-style return window. A mistake is a new transfer or a legal fight. Cutoffs are firm. Miss them and you wait until the next business day. ## Fedwire vs ACH vs SWIFT ACH is cheap, batched, and returnable. Fedwire is expensive, gross, and final. SWIFT is messaging, often used to instruct a Fedwire or a correspondent payment. In a product, “wire” often means Fedwire domestically and SWIFT abroad. ## What do you hold? The full amount until the bank confirms send. Do not release the wallet on “accepted for processing.” Confirm the Fedwire IMAD/OMAD or the bank’s success status. ## How it works with Blnk Post wallet to `@PayoutUSD_WIRE` with inflight true. Commit when the bank gives you a final Fedwire reference. Void if the send is rejected before settlement. Related terms - [Wire](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/wire) - [Settlement](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/settlement) - [Payment rail](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/payment-rail) - [ACH](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/ach) - [SWIFT](https://blnkfinance.com/glossary/swift)