International Transfers FAQ

Read more about international transfers with Lunar here.

Thor avatar
Written by Thor
Updated over a week ago

How much does an international transfer cost?

The price can vary depending on different factors, including whether it is a SEPA or SWIFT transfer, and the currency of the transfer.

Please refer to the correct prices on the following price lists:


Where can I transfer to and from?

The price can vary depending on different factors, including whether it is a SEPA or SWIFT transfer, and the currency of the transfer.

Please refer to the correct prices on the following price lists:


What is IBAN?

IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number and consists of a country code followed by a number. IBAN is used in most of Europe and in a number of other countries outside Europe. IBAN identifies the country, the bank and the person or company receiving money.

What is BIC/SWIFT?BIC stands for Bank Identifier Code and is also known as a SWIFT code - SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. SWIFT is the international transfer infrastructure that allows financial institutions to send money across borders.

The BIC is a bank's identification number and is also used for international payments. All banks have a BIC, which consists of 8 characters. This is typically used for international transfers to banks in countries that do not use IBAN. Therefore, you need to know both the recipient's local account number and the bank's BIC when creating a transfer to a country that does not use the IBAN solution.


Can I make SEPA transfers with Lunar?

Yes, you can make SEPA transfers with Lunar.


What is a "Beneficiary"?

"Beneficiary" refers to the recipient of a payment, often used within banking terminology.


How does currency conversion work in connection with an international transfer?

The European Central Bank, ECB, and by extension the Danish National Bank, decided as of 01.07.2016, that it would no longer be permissible to use the central banks' information rates as the basis for settling currency-based transactions.

Therefore, from this date, Lunar uses information rates from a recognized provider as the basis for calculating the bank's daily purchase and sale rates. Payments ordered before 1:00 pm will be settled at the currency rate of the day the payment is executed, where conversion is required.

Settlement will be made according to the supplier's information rate plus a surcharge, which varies for individual currencies and is provided upon request or can be found in our price list.

Settlement of later ordered payments requiring conversion can be done at the prevailing market rate.


How can I track my international transfer?

At Lunar Bank, we send two types of international payments: SWIFT MT103 payments and SEPA payments. Although both SWIFT and SEPA are systems for international payments, they differ.

SWIFT is global, used across currencies, and is sent as individual payments. SEPA focuses on euro transactions within Europe. These payments are sent in bulk, making it a bit more challenging to track a specific payment. SWIFT MT103 payments can be tracked since they are sent as individual transactions, each with a unique transaction ID (UETR key).

This allows us to track our outgoing SWIFT MT103 transactions via the SWIFT GPI Tracker. We can see how far the payment is in the transaction flow, as well as its status. Unfortunately, this is not the case for outgoing SEPA payments. However, we can contact the receiving bank and inquire about the status of the payment. When it comes to incoming payments, as the receiving bank, we cannot track or provide tracking information.

If you are waiting for an incoming international payment, we recommend contacting the sender or their bank and asking them to track the transfer. We can help investigate if the payment has been misrouted or anything else, but we need a copy of the payment's MT103 or pacs.008 message (both the MT103 and pacs.008 message can be provided by the sender).

If you wish to track an outgoing international payment you have made, please contact our customer support. Please be aware that we can only track a payment if it has not been received within the expected timeframe.


What happens if I have entered incorrect information in the transfer details?

If you mistakenly entered an incorrect IBAN number or the wrong recipient's name, this may in some cases be detected by the receiving bank. Their system might notice that the recipient's name and the IBAN number do not match, and they will therefore reject the payment and return it, charging a fee for this action.

If the entered IBAN number is valid, the payment will usually be processed to the specified IBAN number. Unfortunately, it is not possible to force returns of international payments. The sending bank can request a return, after which the receiving bank will contact the recipient and ask if they accept the payment being returned.

When you send money abroad, it is your responsibility to ensure that all details are correct.


How can I cancel an international transfer?

Unfortunately, it is not possible to force a refund of international payments once the payment has been sent. However, Lunar Bank can request a refund from the recipient's bank. The recipient's bank will then contact the recipient and ask if they accept the payment being returned.

If the payment is only reserved in your account, please contact customer support as soon as possible. If you act quickly, we may be able to try to stop the payment.


Are there any amount limits on international transfers?

You can transfer any amount you wish to, but there can be cases in which you might have to send some documentation related to the transfer.

Cf. current legislation, Lunar reserves the right to contact you or the customer to disclose the purpose and origin of the transfer.

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