The Bank of America is among the largest banks in the United States, serving millions of people. The bank offers banking services such as savings, checking, CDs, and IRAs. You can also get loans and lines of credit from the same institution. The bank has embraced the modern technology of online banking, whereby you can manage your money from your phone. You will know how to transfer money from the Bank of America to another bank shortly.
One of the primary uses of a bank account is to transfer money to others when you buy something from a retailer, pay for a service rendered, transfer money from one bank account to the other, and so on. The Bank of America also supports international transfers of money to banks in other countries. Similarly, the bank allows you to receive money from other countries. That way, people working in different countries can send money to one another.
The Bank of America allows you to do a lot with online banking platforms. You can chat with Erica, set up custom alerts, lock and unlock debit cards. Again, you can sign in with your fingerprint, pay your bills, set up recurring payments, deposit checks using our banking app, and send money securely using Zelle. Zelle is one of the best services you can use with your bank as it allows you to make instant transfers of money across banks.
How to get started with the Bank of America
You must open a bank account with the Bank of America and transfer money using the routing number and account number. The bank allows you to open an account online by submitting your details to federal government requirements. It would help decide whether you wanted to open a checking account, a savings account, or a CD account.
A checking account is better for day-to-day transactions compared to a savings account since it allows you to access your funds any time of the day. Checking accounts come with debit cards to withdraw money conveniently at ATMs or pay for goods and services. Savings accounts have limitations when accessing money in your account and are not better for keeping funds for everyday use.
Once you get the best bank of your choice, you can quickly get started with opening your account. You require your Social Security Number, identification document, email address, a U.S. phone number, and a physical address.
Online account application requires you to fill in details in a form as per the guidelines. It would help if you filled in your full names, ZIP code, City, State, and so on. You will also need to upload details such as your identification documents and proof of your physical address. Once the bank accepts your account application, you can then begin using the banking services.
What kind of transactions cans I do with the Bank of America?
The Bank of America allows you to carry out various transactions. They include the following.
a) Pay bills
The Bank of America allows you to pay bills using your balance. As I mentioned earlier, bill payment is among the transactions you can carry out online. You can even allow automatic bill payments for electricity, water, internet service, and so on so that you do not need to carry out the process every month manually.
b) Send money
You can transfer money to other account holders within the Bank of America. Also, you can send money to accounts in other banks either within or outside the United States. When using the Bank of America to send money internationally, you have to choose the currency to use in the process.
c) Withdraw funds
Once you open a checking account, you can get a debit card that you can use to withdraw money from your account. Debit cards allow you to withdraw money from ATMs and over the counter. You can also withdraw money at the bank by filling in a withdrawal receipt and presenting your identity card to the cashier.
How to transfer funds from the Bank of America to another bank
The Bank of America allows you to transfer money from your bank to other banks. As I mentioned earlier, you can even transfer funds to banks in other countries. To transfer money from the Bank of America, you need the routing and account numbers of the receiving account. The following are ways to send money to other banks.
1) ACH transfer
ACH transfer involves transferring money from one bank to the other using the routing and account numbers. The funds pass through the Automated Clearing House before reaching the recipient’s bank account. The transfer takes 1-3 days to complete. It can even take longer when transferring money to other countries.
ACH transfers are free, although some banks charge a small fee. Someone can also send you money with routing and account number Bank of America using the ACH transfer method. Therefore, the Bank of America allows you to send and receive money using the ACH transfer method.
2) Wire transfer
A wire transfer refers to the electronic payment service for sending money by wire, e.g., through the Federal Reserve Wire Network, SWIFT, or the Clearing House Interbank Payments System. To send money via wire transfer, you can follow the process below.
- Log in to your online banking.
- Navigate to the Transfers tab.
- Locate the Send money to someone section.
- Choose Using their account number at another bank. Make sure you have all the recipient bank details before initiating the transfer.
When transfering money via wire transfer to a foreign country, you have the option to choose the currency you want to use for your transfers. However, it would help if you considered the transaction cost as well as the exchange rates involved. First of all, it is wise to consult the recipient on the currency before transfering the money. If unable to consult the recipient, you should transfer the funds using U.S. dollars.
The transfer fees include $30 for the outbound domestic wire transfers, $0 for outbound international wire transfers in foreign currency, and $45 for outbound international wires sent in U.S. dollars. You can see that the Bank of America international wire transfer is a bit expensive compared to domestic transfers.
The Bank of America also allows you to receive money via the wire transfer method. You have to provide the Bank of America SWIFT code as additional information. The following are the SWIFT codes of the Bank of America.
- BOFAUS3N (when receiving U.S. dollars or unknown currency) Bank of America, NA 222 Broadway New York, New York 10038.
- BOFAUS6S (for foreign currency) Bank of America, NA 555 California St San Francisco, CA 94104.
You can use BOFAUS3N if you do not know the currency the sender is using.
3) Zelle
Zelle is a money transfer service that operates in the U.S. It facilitates the transfer of money between banks, and money transfer is instant. Therefore, it shortens the time taken to transfer money between banks. You have to enroll in Zelle to carry out the transfer. You need your phone number or email address, and you are good to go. For example, you can transfer money from the Bank of America to Chase using Zelle via the recipient’s phone number.
However, Zelle does not allow you to transfer money internationally. If you want to transfer money to an international recipient, you should use the wire or ACH transfer methods.
4) Check
The Bank of America allows you to transfer money using a check. You can have the bank write a check that you can send to the recipient. Not everybody prefers electronic money transfer, and thus writing a check becomes convenient. You can have the personal check or the cashier’s check, and you are good to go. When you send a personal check, it is until the recipient takes the check to their bank to cash out that the deduction will reflect in your bank account.
For the cashier’s check, you need to make an instant payment for writing the check. Cashier’s check processing is usually faster compared to the personal check as the funds are already paid.
Can I reverse a Bank of America to another bank transfer?
Sometimes you may find out later that you send money to the wrong recipient or change your mind about transferring money to someone. In such a scenario, you can cancel a transaction. You can reverse an ACH transfer from the Bank of America because it takes longer to be processed. Therefore, before the funds reach the recipient, you can take a step and cancel the transfer.
However, it can be challenging to reverse a wire transfer since the transfers are instant. Sometimes, the Bank of America facilitates canceling a wire transfer, especially if the recipient has not claimed the money. Also, you can stop a check that you send to someone if you decide that you no longer want them to receive the funds you had indicated.
Bottom line
The Bank of America is among the largest banks in the U.S., serving millions of Americans in their financial services quest. The bank allows you to open a bank account online where you can manage your money conveniently. You can send money from one bank to the other, pay bills, check balances, and so on using the online banking platform. With the Bank of America, you can carry out an international money transfer.
