Incoming Wires:

Receiving Funds via a Wire:

University Receipts Guidelines

•Primary method of acceptance at the university is checks, cash or credit cards (see below as to why that is the case)

•The Main University Incoming wire account was established for miscellaneous large dollar, one-time payments or international payments

•Incoming wires should be an exception not a reoccurring method of receipts. If you have a need to accept reoccurring wires you should contact Cash Management 6-4873 and we will be happy to work with you to establish a process

•Be sure you are giving out the appropriate wire instructions. No funds related to sponsored, tuition or gifts should ever flow through the miscellaneous wire account. Please refer to their website or offices to obtain the appropriate instructions. When in doubt contact Cash Management

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Why are the volumes of incoming wires limited:

•Current Federal Reserve and Banking Regulations do not dictate standard reference requirements when sending a wire

•Many wires come in with insufficient information to identify what the payment is for - many wires remain unclaimed

•Unlike a check that can be returned to the sender with little to no cost, if you are unable to apply funds, wires have a bank research and return fee (currently $50/wire) and require a manual written request (additional FTE time)

•Claiming and posting wires is a very manual and labor intensive process

•It is not an effective use of resource time for school or central unit

•Although it is the quickest method of receipt of funds, the costs outweigh the benefits due to the amount of time it takes to identify and apply the payment

What information should be provided to payee:

•Bank information: (provided on last page)

•Bank name

•Bank address

•Bank routing and transit

•Bank account number

•Bank account name

•Swift code number if international

•Reference information

•It is most important that you provide clear instructions to the payee on what must be included in the reference/memo field of the wire

•The first part of the instructions should always include the department’s 5-digit phone number, your name, and then the identifier that will allow the department to apply the payment appropriately i.e. invoice # (see example on last page)

•If a wire is received with no discernible reference information it is both expensive and very time consuming process to obtain additional information from the sending bank

•Never print the wire instructions on invoices; the optimal method of receiving payment into the University is via check

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How to claim a wire:

•Run the Unclaimed Wire Report from either Crew or OBI weekly

•The unclaimed wire report is updated daily with the previous day’s incoming wires

•In accordance with University policy, all income received should be posted in the month receive

•If you are expecting a wire, you should review the report more frequently. When looking for a wire on the Crew Report you have 3 parameter options:

•1-month

•2-month

•Or blank (we recommend running the report more frequently as this report dates back several years)

•When claiming a wire sent from outside the US it is possible/probable that the sending and/or intermediary bank deducted fees from the wire as it passed through their possession. If you are expecting a wire for a certain dollar amount, do a CTRL F search in the Unclaimed Wire Report for amounts anywhere between your expected dollar amount and $100 - $200 less than that amount

•When you see the wire on the Crew unclaimed wire report, send an email to that includes the following:

•the 33-digit GL string (the full 33-digits code is needed even if it includes zeros)

•the associated IW #

•the associated amount

•the description that the department wants to see when the wire is booked

Note:

•It is the responsibility of the School/Unit to be on the lookout for expected funds

•Cash Receipts does not contact department when a wire is received

•Cash Receipts’ objective is to post all wires claimed to GL within 48 hours of receipt of an email claiming funds

Wire Instructions for one-time large dollar payments: / Please note – these instructions should not be used for wires pertaining to gifts, sponsored receipts or items billed through Central AR.
Legal Account Title: / President and Fellows of Harvard College, Wire Account
Account Number: / 000053137234
Wire ABA: / 026009593
SWIFT Code: / BOFAUS3N
IBAN: / Bank of America does not have an IBAN number, wires coming from outside the US should use the SWIFT code above
Reference Line aka as memo field to be included: / Your first initial/last name/5-digit extension [example: Harvard employee Bob Smith at ext. 5-1234, the reference line the sender must include would be: BSmith 5-1234]

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