International payments can be made by wire transfer, draft, and forward contract. Payments must be processed using a Disbursement Voucher (DV) e-doc (KFS).
Caution: Please do not convert the currency. Exchange rates change constantly. Cash Management will do the conversion at the time of the transaction.
Most items settle within 2-5 business days; less regulated countries could take up to 2 weeks.
The Treasurer’s office allows 14 business days for an item to settle. If the beneficiary claims “non-receipt” of funds, contact Cash Management to begin an investigation process.
See also: Paying Purchase Order Invoices in Foreign Currency
International wires differ from domestic wires in several significant ways:
Therefore, include the following information on the e-doc, not on the attachment (and do not send it to DropBox):
Note: If your beneficiary’s payment requires a correspondent bank, contact Cash Management with that information.
Caution: DV e-docs that are missing vital processing information will be rejected by Cash Management, causing a delay in the processing of the transaction and possibly resulting in a late payment to the beneficiary. Any fees incurred resulting from incorrect/incomplete information is the responsibility of the originating unit. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you request the proper information from your beneficiary at the time of the purchase of goods or services.
A draft can be purchased in the currency of the beneficiary’s choice (not U.S. dollars). The draft will be drawn on a bank in the country that it is going to. Drafts are returned to the originating department for mailing to the beneficiary.
A forward contract, or "forward," is used to hedge currency fluctuations by entering into an agreement to exchange currency on a future date at a specific rate. Contact the Treasurers' office to negotiate these agreements.
The U.S. government subjects certain countries to sanctions, which means Cornell University is prohibited from sending money to these regions.
Current list of sanctioned countries
Seek advice from University Counsel if the payment:
Units must consult University Counsel to obtain approval for the expenditure. The approval and associated documentation must accompany the e-doc or the payment request will be rejected by Cash Management.
What is an international draft?
Cornell accepts international drafts. They are to be deposited to the Bank of America account and the Advance Deposit (AD) e-doc should be completed using the bank code BOA. Only one currency type is allowed per deposit ticket. Keep a copy of the checks for your records.
To facilitate this process:
Be aware that there are fees associated with opting to accept a draft drawn on an international bank.
Note: Canadian drafts are not considered international drafts and may be deposited to Tompkins Trust in the usual way. Do not attempt to the convert the funds to the U.S. dollar equivalent; the bank will perform this function
To protect your unit from wire transfer fraud, for all international wire transfers above $1,500, we recommend that the requestor verify the wire transfer information before processing the payment. The verification could entail simply reviewing previous payments to the same vendor to see if the bank account information has changed. If it has changed, or if a communication is received to change the information, verify the change directly with the vendor by using the original contact information on file, preferably by phone with a known contact.
Wire transfer red flags:
