The daily limit for an international transfer at US banks is usually not one published number. Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo set online wire limits per customer, based on your account and history, and show them only once you enroll in wires. Citi publishes $50,000 per business day on standard accounts, and Capital One does not send international wires online. To send more than your online limit, a branch visit almost always removes the cap.
Below is what each major bank publishes, how the limits work, and what to do when you hit one, with the specialist services for comparison.
International transfer limits by bank
| Bank | Online international wire limit | Fee to send online | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chase | Set per customer; shown after you enroll in wires (Chase) | Depends on account and currency | Over the limit: visit a Chase branch or J.P. Morgan Financial Center (Chase agreement) |
| Bank of America | Set by account type; above a set amount you must add Secured Transfer or a USB security key (Bank of America) | $45 in US dollars; no wire fee in foreign currency, but the exchange rate includes a markup (Bank of America) | Can cancel consumer international wires within 30 minutes |
| Wells Fargo | Daily and rolling 30-day limits set by account, history and recipient (Wells Fargo) | $30 digital, $40 in branch (Wells Fargo) | Over the limit: branch. ExpressSend remittances: $5,000 a day, $12,500 per 30 days (Wells Fargo) |
| Citi | Standard accounts: up to $50,000 per account per business day in US dollars; up to $50,000 per transaction in foreign currency. Citi Priority and Citigold: no limit in US dollars, $500,000 per transaction in foreign currency (Citi) | Standard: $35 in US dollars, waived in foreign currency | Fees fall or disappear on higher tiers |
| Capital One | Not available online; international wires are branch-only, with no limit there (Capital One) | $40 in branch | International wires can take up to 10 business days |
Limits and fees change, and several banks say they can adjust your limit at any time. Treat the table as a starting point and check the figure in your own online banking before a large transfer.
Why banks don’t publish one number
Wells Fargo explains the logic plainly: the amount you can wire digitally varies with your account, your banking history, the recipient and that recipient’s transaction history, and the bank may change it at any time (Wells Fargo). A new account sending to a new overseas recipient will typically get a lower ceiling than a long-standing account paying someone it has paid before.
Chase’s wire agreement adds that every wire sent from all the accounts under your user ID before the daily cutoff counts toward the same daily limit, and that Chase does not have to process wires above it (Chase agreement). Splitting one payment across two of your Chase accounts does not get around the cap.
The reason is fraud. A wire is hard to reverse once it lands, and scams that push people to wire money abroad are among the costliest. Our guide to what to do in the first hour after money is stolen explains why speed matters so much with wires.
How to find your own limit
- Chase: enroll in wire transfers in the app or on chase.com; your daily limit appears before you add a recipient (Chase).
- Bank of America: start a wire under Pay & Transfer. For larger amounts you will be prompted to register for Secured Transfer or a USB security key, or to request an authorization code (Bank of America).
- Wells Fargo: start a digital wire; the screen shows the daily and rolling 30-day amounts available for that recipient (Wells Fargo).
- Citi: the published tiers apply by package; check which package your account is in.
What to do if you need to send more
- Go to a branch. Chase, Wells Fargo and Capital One all point customers to a branch for amounts over the online limit, and branch wires at Capital One have no limit (Capital One). Bring photo ID, the recipient’s full name and address, IBAN or account number, and the bank’s SWIFT code. Branch fees are usually higher.
- Add the extra security step. At Bank of America, registering a security key or Secured Transfer is what unlocks larger online wires.
- Plan ahead. Wells Fargo’s international cutoff for same-day sending is 2:20 p.m. Pacific Time (Wells Fargo); miss it and the wire goes the next business day.
- Consider a specialist service. Wise, for example, allows personal customers in its licensed states to send up to $1,000,000 per transfer by wire and up to $50,000 per 24 hours by ACH bank debit, with a 60-day ACH ceiling of $50,000 to $250,000 depending on the account (Wise). Card-funded transfers are capped at $2,000 a day. For fees, see our international wire transfer fees comparison.
Splitting a large payment into several smaller ones to stay under a limit can itself trigger fraud checks and delays. If you are moving a large sum, such as a house deposit abroad, call the bank first and ask what documents it wants.
The hidden cost: exchange rates
Sending in the recipient’s currency often removes the wire fee, but not the cost. Bank of America states that markups are built into its exchange rate and that it makes money from the conversion (Bank of America). Compare the amount that will arrive, not just the fee. The receipt you get before paying shows it.
Your rights if something goes wrong
Most international transfers by consumers count as remittance transfers under federal rules, which give you three protections (CFPB):
- Disclosures before you pay: the fees, exchange rate, total to recipient and when the money will be available.
- 30 minutes to cancel at no charge, unless the money has already been picked up or deposited. The provider must refund everything, including fees, within three business days (CFPB rule).
- 180 days to report an error, counted from the promised availability date. The provider has 90 days to investigate, and if the money never arrived you may get a refund or have it resent (CFPB).
That protection has a gap: if you typed the wrong account number and the bank took reasonable steps to check and recover it, it does not have to refund you (CFPB). Double-check the IBAN before you send.
How we checked this
We read each bank’s wire FAQs, fee pages and online wire agreements, Wise’s help pages on limits, and the CFPB’s guidance and the remittance transfer rule. Facts checked on September 25, 2026. Limits and fees change and can differ by account; confirm them in your online banking before a large transfer. This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice.
