Credit transfers in foreign currency
Transfer fees
Fee options
The Austrian Payment Services Act (Zahlungsdienstegesetz) stipulates that fees are to be shared (referred to as SHA) between the payer and the payee (i.e. beneficiary), with each party paying the fee charged by their respective payment service provider, for transfers that do not require currency conversion (for example, if the transfer is made and received in U.S. dollars).
If the transfer involves currency conversion, e.g. from euro to U.S. dollars, you may choose one of three fee options:
| Fee option | Domestic fees charged to | Foreign fees charged to |
|---|---|---|
| Free of charge for the beneficiary = OUR | Payer | Payer |
| Free of charge for the payer = BEN | Beneficiary | Beneficiary |
| Shared fees= SHA | Payer | Beneficiary |
Since the fees for foreign currency transfers are not subject to uniformly valid provisions, each credit institution is free to determine such charges itself.
Execution times
Cross-border transfers –including transfers made in euro –to/from a country that is not a member of the EU or of the European Economic Area (EEA), like Switzerland, the U.S.A. or Japan, are not subject to legal provisions governing execution times. Moreover, there are no legal provisions that stipulate execution times for transfers in, e.g., U.S. dollars, Japanese yen or Swiss francs within Austria or the EU.