International Monetary Fund SWIFT/BIC code

What IMFDUS3W means for a payment to International Monetary Fund

Whether you are given IMFDUS3W or IMFDUS3WXXX, you are looking at the same identifier for International Monetary Fund in United States. Every bank on the SWIFT network uses these codes to direct international transfers to the correct institution. You will need it mainly when dealing with payments that cross a border and payments in foreign currencies.

This page is meant to help anyone who sends money to an account at International Monetary Fund without mistakes. The SWIFT code on its own cannot identify an individual account holder; for that you need the IBAN or account number .

A note on our data

The details here come from publicly available data which we refresh regularly. Institutions reorganise, change names and change codes, and a directory never catches every change immediately. The number of codes we show reflect what is in our directory, not official figures from International Monetary Fund.

Use our data as a reference, not as the final word: the recipient’s bank details come first. GoldexPay is not affiliated with International Monetary Fund, we only compare transfer services. Should you notice something that is out of date, we welcome a short note.

What to give a sender who pays you at International Monetary Fund

A sender in another country will ask for several details from you, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. Give them the account holder’s name, your account number or IBAN, the BIC IMFDUS3WXXX and your address, which some banks require.

You can include International Monetary Fund and its city too, because some payment forms have separate fields for them. A mistake in your account number can be harder to fix than it looks.

An incoming payment does not always arrive in full. Fees for incoming transfers vary from bank to bank. Make clear with the sender who pays which costs before the money is sent.

How long does an international transfer to International Monetary Fund take?

A SWIFT payment typically needs anywhere from one to several business days – it depends on currency, route and the banks in between. Payments made late in the day or on a weekend or public holiday usually start the next business day. Occasionally a bank asks about the purpose of a payment before releasing it.

Many banks use SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Each payment gets a unique reference, the UETR that banks can use to trace it. Save the payment confirmation until the recipient confirms – you will need it for any trace request.

Only the sending bank can start an official trace; the receiving side usually has nothing to trace yet. As a recipient, it helps to check your statements to see a partial amount because fees can reduce the amount.

Choosing between the 4 SWIFT codes of International Monetary Fund

International Monetary Fund has 4 separate SWIFT/BIC codes across 1 locations. Only one is the head office code, IMFDUS3WXXX; the others identify branches, and sometimes specific services.

Unless the recipient tells you otherwise, go with IMFDUS3WXXX or its short form IMFDUS3W. Only use a branch code when your contact gives you that exact code, for example on an invoice or in their bank details.

Not sure which code applies? Check with the recipient, or look at a recent statement from International Monetary Fund. Codes for branches are more prone to be retired than the head office code when a bank merges or closes offices.

Paying into International Monetary Fund in USD

The local currency of United States is the US Dollar (USD). Money sent in a different currency is converted into USD before it reaches the account – and the bank that does it picks the rate. Each conversion costs the amount, even when no fee is shown.

Where the conversion happens has an effect on how much arrives, since every bank sets its own rate. Sending the amount already in USD often avoids an extra conversion by International Monetary Fund, provided the rate you get is fair.

Rates for USD move during the day. If you pay regularly, small differences in the rate make a real difference over a year.

8 or 11 characters: IMFDUS3W versus IMFDUS3WXXX

Each SWIFT/BIC code has the same eight core characters: a four-letter bank code, two letters for the country and two characters for the location. The result is IMFDUS3W for International Monetary Fund.

The 11-character version has a three-character extension for a branch or department. If the last three are XXX, they simply mean the head office, which is why IMFDUS3WXXX and IMFDUS3W lead to the same place.

In practice the code is written in capitals and without spaces. Look out for the letter O and the digit 0 and the letter I and the digit 1; they are easy to mix up.

Scams that use SWIFT codes

A common scam works like this: an email arrives with a message saying that a contact now has a new bank account. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about who owns the account: scammers use real codes of real banks.

Check new payment details through a separate channel, not by replying to the message. Watch out for time pressure, odd spelling or an email address that differs by one letter. Acted too fast? Call the bank you paid from straight away and ask them to start a recall and report the fraud.

People receiving money can be targeted as well: one known trick is a buyer who pays too much followed by a request to refund the difference to another account. A screenshot of a transfer proves nothing.

Verifying the SWIFT code of International Monetary Fund

The most reliable place for the correct BIC is a document from the bank itself, such as a statement or the account details in online banking. Check that code with IMFDUS3W here.

An incorrect BIC may lead to a delay, a returned payment or additional charges along the way. Remember the IBAN: an error there is harder to correct than a wrong code.

An automatic check in your banking app merely tells you that the IBAN exists. Some banks now compare the payee name with the account before you confirm – do not ignore a mismatch warning. When you pay someone new, many people start with a small test amount before sending the rest.

International transfers from International Monetary Fund: the real cost

What you pay for a payment abroad is made up of several parts. On top of the transfer fee, banks in between may deduct a fee, and if the money changes currency, the bank usually applies a rate that is less favourable than the real market rate.

That exchange rate margin is often the biggest cost even though it is not listed as a fee. Check the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate – the rate you find on financial news sites.

Specialist money transfer services frequently offer rates closer to the mid-market rate with clearer fees. Next time you send money, it is worth comparing the total cost via GoldexPay rather than accepting the bank’s rate by default. Using a transfer service does not mean closing your account at International Monetary Fund.