A domestic wire sent through the Federal Reserve’s Fedwire Funds Service settles as soon as it is processed, usually on the same business day you send it, provided your bank gets it out before the cut-off. Fedwire settlement is “immediate, final, and irrevocable once processed,” according to the Federal Reserve Board. Fedwire does not run on weekends or Federal Reserve holidays. A wire that misses your bank’s cut-off on Friday, July 2, 2027 goes out on Tuesday, July 6, because Monday, July 5 (Independence Day observed) is a closure day.
International wires can take longer, because they pass through banks in other countries with their own cut-offs and holidays.
How long does a wire transfer take?
It depends on when you send it and where it goes:
- Domestic wire, sent before your bank’s cut-off on a business day: the Fedwire transfer is settled on that day. When the receiving bank credits the recipient’s account is up to that bank.
- Domestic wire, sent after the cut-off or on a weekend or holiday: it waits for the next Fedwire business day.
- International wire: a US bank may send it through one or more correspondent banks abroad. Each one has its own business days, and Federal Reserve Financial Services points out that “foreign country banking holidays are not identical to U.S. banking holidays” (holiday schedules). Ask your bank for the expected delivery time.
Fedwire is mainly “used to make large-value, time-critical payments” between banks that hold an account at a Federal Reserve Bank. Your own bank decides whether, how and when you can request a wire.
Fedwire hours and cut-off times
The Fedwire Funds Service operating hours, as published by Federal Reserve Financial Services and checked on October 23, 2026:
| Fedwire Funds Service | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Business day opens | 9:00 p.m. on the preceding calendar day |
| Fedwire cutoff time for customer transfers | 6:45 p.m. |
| Cut-off for bank transfers and other messages | 7:00 p.m. |
| Business day closes | 7:00 p.m. |
The Federal Reserve Banks “may close the Fedwire Funds Service after 7:00 p.m. ET” when they are still processing messages received before the cut-off.
The 6:45 p.m. ET Fedwire cutoff time applies to banks. Your wire transfer cutoff time as a customer is set by your bank and is earlier, because the bank needs time to verify and send the wire. Look it up in your bank’s wire agreement or app before you rely on a same-day wire.
Because the business day opens at 9:00 p.m. ET the evening before, the Monday business day starts on Sunday evening. After a Monday holiday, the next business day opens on the evening of the holiday itself.
Wires on weekends and bank holidays
Fedwire’s non-business days are “all Saturdays, all Sundays and the holidays listed on the Federal Reserve Banks’ Holiday Schedules.” The live status shows the next one, and the full list is on our Federal Reserve holidays page.
A Saturday holiday does not close Fedwire on Friday. The Federal Reserve’s holiday schedule says that for a Saturday holiday the Reserve Banks “will be open the preceding Friday.” Wires therefore go through on Friday, June 18, Friday, December 24 and Friday, December 31, 2027, even though federal offices are closed on those days.
Example: missing the Friday cut-off before a Monday holiday
You ask your bank to send a domestic wire late on Friday, July 2, 2027, after its cut-off.
- Friday, July 2: the bank’s cut-off has passed. The wire is held.
- Saturday, July 3 and Sunday, July 4: non-business days for Fedwire.
- Monday, July 5: Independence Day falls on a Sunday, so the Federal Reserve closes on Monday. Not a business day.
- Tuesday, July 6: the Fedwire business day opens at 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday evening, and your bank can send the wire on Tuesday.
The wire leaves four calendar days after you asked for it. The same pattern applies on Friday, January 15, 2027, before Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 18: a late wire goes out on Tuesday, January 19. More on the July closure is on our Independence Day page.
Fedwire will add Sundays and holidays
On October 9, 2025, the Federal Reserve Board announced that the Fedwire Funds Service will expand its operating days “to include Sundays and weekday holidays.” According to Federal Reserve Financial Services, the change “will be implemented in 2028 or 2029,” and use of the extra days by participants “will be voluntary.” For 2026 and 2027 the holiday closures above still apply, and after the change your bank may or may not send wires on those days.
Need to send money on a holiday?
Instant payments are the main alternative. The FedNow Service runs every day, including holidays, and The Clearing House’s RTP network allows up to $10 million per transaction around the clock; both work only if your bank and the recipient’s bank take part. See how bank holidays affect payments for the comparison. Slower but cheaper transfers go by ACH; see ACH processing times.
Frequently asked questions
Will wire transfers go through on Columbus Day?
Not through Fedwire. Columbus Day is a Federal Reserve holiday; the next one is Monday, October 11, 2027. A wire requested that day goes out on Tuesday, October 12. See our Columbus Day guide.
Will wire transfers go through tomorrow?
They will if tomorrow is a Fedwire business day and you submit the wire before your bank’s cut-off. Our are banks open today page shows whether today and tomorrow are Federal Reserve business days.
Do bank transfers still go through on bank holidays?
Wires and ACH transfers wait for the next business day. Transfers between two accounts at the same bank, and instant payments through FedNow or RTP, may post on a holiday if your bank supports them.