Documentation

International Wire Returns

International wire transfers can be returned by beneficiaries at any time. There is no deadline by which a transfer must be returned.

Outgoing transfer returns

When an outgoing international wire transfer originated by Column is returned, returned funds will be credited back to the originator's account. In most cases, the returned value will not equal the initial value. All funds received by Column will be converted to USD using real-time FX rates. The FX rate used at time of return is not guaranteed to match the FX rate you booked when sending the initial transfer. Benenficiary and/or intermediary banks may also charge fees to return the international wire transfer.

Column includes return details in the following international wire transfer object fields:

  • return_reason: The return reason if the international wire transfer is returned. This is a free-format text field with details from the beneficiary bank.
  • returned_amount: The amount (in the smallest unit of the currency) if this transfer is returned.
  • returned_currency_code: The currency if this transfer is returned. The three-letter currency code defined in ISO 4217 (e.g.USD).

Incoming transfer returns

Column allows customer to return incoming international wire transfers for a variety of reasons, such as incorrect beneficiary account and incorrect amount. When you return an international wire, you can include an optional message to the originator bank. See details in our International Wire Return API.

curl https://api.column.com/transfers/international-wire/swft_xxx/return' \
  -XPOST \
  -u :<YOUR API KEY> \
  -d return_reason="beneficiary_account_blocked" \
  -d message_to_originator_bank="bene acct cannot accept intl wires"