Bank Transfers: What They Are and How to Do Them

For business owners, moving money quickly to your bank account can make the difference in paying your bills on time or not. You can use bank transfers to move funds around, accept payments from a customer, pay taxes associated with your business and pay suppliers.

What is a bank transfer?

A bank transfer is a payment method that allows consumers and business owners to transfer money to a bank account. For business owners, this will typically happen when you’re looking to transfer money from sales related to your business to a business bank account. 

If you use Square for your business, there are several types of transfers available:

• Standard next-business-day transfer: When you activate your Square Point of Sale account, link a bank account, and start accepting payments, funds will transfer on a standard schedule of 36 hours to one to two business days within a transaction. 

• Instant transfer: If instant transfers are available on your account, you can send funds to your linked, external bank account 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for a 1% fee per transfer. These transfers require a minimum balance of £15 and transfers of up to £3,500 can be sent per day*. Balance not sent instantly will be sent on your normal schedule.

Are there bank transfer limits?

When it comes to transferring money to any external bank account, the amount limit — as well as speed of transfer — will depend on the banks involved in the transfer as well as the type of transfer itself. Below are some of the limits at common banks as well as Square transfer limits.

Bank transfer limits

Type of transfer	Transfer limit
HSBC Holdings	Up to £25,000 per day
Lloyds Banking Group	Up to £25,000 per day
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	Up to $25,000 per day
Royal Bank of Scotland Group	Up to £20,000 per day
Barclays	Up to £50,000 per day

Square transfer limits

Type of transfer	Transfer limit	Speed of transfer
Standard next business day	None	1 to 2 business days.
Instant transfer	Up to £3,500*	Instantly 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.*

Data on this page was collected as of 11th September 2023 and is based on information found on each respective bank’s website. This information is subject to change or update without notice. Square does not make any representations as to the completeness or accuracy of the information on this page.

Is a bank transfer secure?

Bank transfers are considered a safe and secure method of payment, as there is proven identity verification associated with the transfer itself. However, it is critical to ensure you know who you are sending the money to. Whether you are initiating a bank transfer to an external bank account or a different account within your own, double check the name of the recipient. Once a transfer is initiated it cannot be canceled. As with other digital banking functionalities, the alternative could be less secure. Transferring funds to a bank account in cash form includes the steps for transporting money yourself and any security risks involved with physically moving that money from one location to another.

*New Square sellers may be limited to £750 per day. Funds are subject to your bank’s availability schedule, but are generally available in your bank account within 20 minutes of initiating an instant transfer.