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Part of the guideOne account, every currency: a guide for cross-border businesses
The short answer
A SWIFT payment travels from bank to bank, sometimes through one or more correspondent banks, and each can take a fee or add a check, so it can arrive later and for less than was sent. A payment over local rails is settled as a domestic transfer in the destination country, such as SEPA in the euro area or ACH in the US, usually by a provider that holds accounts at both ends. Local rails are typically faster, cheaper and arrive in full; SWIFT remains the route for currencies and destinations a provider does not cover locally, and for some very large payments.
When a business pays a supplier abroad, the money can take one of two kinds of route. The difference explains most of the variation in cost and speed that businesses see. For the full list of rails by country, see the table in our guide to multi-currency business accounts; this article explains how the two routes work and how to choose.
How a SWIFT payment travels
Swift is a messaging network, not a bank. When you send an international transfer, your bank sends a payment instruction to the recipient's bank. If the two banks do not hold accounts with each other, the money moves through correspondent banks that do, each debiting one account and crediting another. Every hop can add a charge, a compliance check and a cut-off time.
The network has become much faster. Swift reports that about 90% of payments reach the beneficiary's bank within an hour. The slower part is the last step: only about 43% are credited to the end customer's account within the hour, because of local operating hours, checks on incoming payments and back offices that do not run around the clock. The G20 target is for 75% of cross-border payments to reach the recipient within an hour by 2027.
The messages have also changed. In November 2025, Swift ended the period in which its old MT message formats could be used for cross-border payments, moving to the ISO 20022 standard, which carries richer, structured data about the payer, payee and purpose. That should mean fewer payments held for missing information, but only if the details you supply are complete.
How local rails work across borders
A provider that offers local rails holds accounts inside each payment system it serves. To pay a supplier in Spain from pounds, it takes your pounds in the UK, converts them, and pays the supplier from its own euro account over SEPA. To your supplier it looks like a domestic euro payment. No correspondent banks are involved, so nothing is deducted along the way.
The same works in reverse for receiving money. Local account details, such as a euro IBAN or a US routing number, let foreign customers pay you domestically; our article on receiving US dollars as a UK business shows the effect on a single invoice.
There is a trade-off. With local rails, your money passes through the provider's own accounts for a short time, so you are relying on the provider rather than on a chain of banks. That makes two questions important: is the provider regulated in each country where it holds your money, and how is that money protected while it is in transit? Our article on safeguarding and FSCS protection explains the difference between the two main kinds of protection. Providers also set their own limits per payment and per day, which may be lower than the scheme limits.
Speed and cost side by side
| SWIFT | Local rails | |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Bank to bank, possibly via correspondents | Domestic payment in each country, via the provider's accounts |
| Deductions in transit | Possible, unless the sender pays all charges (OUR) | None on the domestic leg |
| Speed | Often within an hour to the receiving bank; crediting can take longer | Seconds to one business day, depending on the local system |
| Operating hours | Depends on each bank in the chain | Some local systems run 24/7, such as SEPA Instant; others follow business days |
| Currency coverage | Almost any currency | Only currencies and countries where the provider has local accounts |
| Size limits | Few scheme limits; bank limits apply | Scheme and provider limits; for example, Same Day ACH is capped at $1 million per payment until September 2027 |
Worked example: paying an €8,000 invoice in Spain
A UK company must pay a Spanish supplier €8,000. To compare the routes alone, assume the same exchange rate applies in each case, so only the rail costs differ. The fees are illustrative.
| SWIFT, shared charges (SHA) | SWIFT, sender pays all (OUR) | Local rail via provider | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fee to send | £25 | £40 | Included in the conversion fee |
| Deducted on the way | €20 | None | None |
| Supplier receives | €7,980 | €8,000 | €8,000 |
| Typical arrival | Same day to two days | Same day to two days | Within seconds by SEPA Instant, or by the next business day |
| Follow-up needed | Supplier chases the €20 shortfall | None | None |
The SHA payment looks cheaper at the point of sending, but the supplier's ledger now shows €20 unpaid, and someone must send a top-up or agree a write-off. The OUR payment solves that at a higher fee. The local route delivers the full amount without either cost. Add the conversion cost on top, which our article on hidden FX margins shows how to measure.
When SWIFT is still the right choice
- The currency or country is not covered locally. Local rails exist only where a provider has accounts. For many smaller currencies, SWIFT is the only option.
- Very large or high-value payments. Some local systems cap individual payments, and some recipients prefer a bank-to-bank wire for property, acquisitions or treasury movements.
- The recipient's bank requires it. Some institutions, especially for regulated transactions, insist on a SWIFT payment with a full message trail.
- You need a payment in a currency other than the local one. Paying dollars into a euro-area bank account, for example, normally goes by SWIFT.
In practice, most businesses use both. Local rails handle the regular flow of supplier payments and customer receipts in the main currencies, and SWIFT handles the exceptions. The aim is to make SWIFT the exception rather than the default.
When you do use SWIFT, give complete, structured names and addresses, choose OUR if the full amount must arrive, and keep the payment's tracking reference so your bank can trace it. For euro payments specifically, our article on SEPA Instant for businesses explains what changed in 2025.
Where Pryme fits
Pryme accounts hold four currencies with local details for each: a UK sort code and account number, a euro IBAN, a US account and routing number, and a Nigerian NUBAN, so customers in those markets can pay domestically. Before you plan supplier payments, check in the app which currencies and destinations you can send to and by which route. Bulk payouts validate account names before you approve.
Outside Nigeria, Pryme's services are provided through regulated partners. For how rails, conversion and protection fit together, see the multi-currency business account guide.
Questions people ask
Why did my international payment arrive short?
If the sender chose shared (SHA) or beneficiary (BEN) charges, correspondent or receiving banks may have deducted fees along the way. The amount sent was correct; the amount credited was lower. Ask the payer to use OUR charges, or give them local account details so the payment is domestic.
Is SWIFT slower than a local bank transfer?
Usually, though less than it used to be. Most SWIFT payments reach the receiving bank within an hour, but crediting the end account can take longer. Instant local systems such as SEPA Instant credit the account within seconds, and standard local transfers usually within a business day.
What are local payment rails?
They are the domestic payment systems of each country or currency area, such as Faster Payments in the UK, SEPA in the euro area and ACH in the US. Cross-border providers use them by holding accounts in each system, so an international payment becomes two domestic ones.
Can I track a SWIFT payment?
Yes. Each SWIFT payment carries a unique reference that your bank can use to trace where it is in the chain. Ask your bank for it if a payment is late, and give it to the recipient so their bank can look for it too.
Is it safe to send money over local rails through a payment provider?
It can be, provided the provider is regulated where it operates and keeps customer money protected. Ask which regulated firm holds your money and how it is protected before you use it.
Sources
- Swift: Cross-border payment processing speed stretches further ahead of G20 target · accessed Oct 2026
- Payment Expert: Swift's ISO 20022 cutover, the end of MT (Nov 2025) · accessed Oct 2026
- European Central Bank: Instant Payments Regulation · accessed Oct 2026
- Nacha: Same Day ACH per-payment limit to increase to $10 million (Apr 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- FCA: International payment pricing transparency, good and poor practice · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.