Why the beneficiary received less than you sent

Almost every cross-border wire arrives at the beneficiary slightly smaller than what was sent. The shrinkage is either expected (SHA charge code) or recoverable (OUR charge code with non-compliant intermediary). Either way, it is traceable on GPI.

If you specified SHA (shared charges) in field 71A, deductions at intermediary banks are normal and not refundable. Each correspondent deducts its handling fee — typically 10-25 USD per hop. A 2-hop wire might lose 30-50 USD; a 4-hop emerging-market wire 80-150 USD.

If you specified OUR (sender pays all), every charge should be paid by you, and the beneficiary should receive the gross amount. Any deduction is a violation. Take the GPI trail to your sender bank — they have to chase the offending correspondent and refund you.

Beneficiary-bank charges: the beneficiary's own bank may charge an "incoming wire fee" — 10-20 USD typically. This is outside the SHA/OUR/BEN scheme and applies even on OUR. The beneficiary, not the sender, can negotiate this.

FX margin: if the wire involved currency conversion, the bigger "missing amount" is usually FX spread, not deducted charges. A 10,000 USD wire converted to JPY at a 2% spread costs you 200 USD in FX, vs maybe 25 USD in charges.

To diagnose: open the GPI trail. Field 71F at each hop shows the charge deducted. The difference between the gross amount sent and the credit at the beneficiary, less the sum of field 71F amounts, is the FX margin.

For repeated routine deductions on OUR wires, ask your bank to renegotiate the correspondent fee schedule or change routing.

Key takeaways

• SHA → deductions are normal, not refundable.
• OUR → deductions are violations, refundable via your bank.
• Beneficiary-bank fee always applies (10-20 USD).
• FX margin is often the bigger leak than charges.
• GPI field 71F shows charges per hop.

Frequently asked questions