Your supplier in Shenzhen won’t start production until the deposit clears, and every hour you spend wondering where the money is feels like a day added to your shipping schedule.
That uncertainty is one of the most common frustrations for a new importer sending a first payment abroad, because the answer to ‘how long will this take’ is rarely a single number.
While 90% of cross-border payments sent over the SWIFT network reach the destination bank within an hour, less than half are actually credited to the recipient’s account in that same window. That gap is exactly where new importers get caught out.
This article explains how long international payments take from Malaysia and what actually causes the delays.
Key takeaways:
- International transfer speed depends mainly on the payment rail: Local payment networks can settle within the same or next business day, while SWIFT and traditional telegraphic transfers may take several business days because more banks and processing steps are involved.
- Cut-off times, weekends, and holidays can add days to a transfer: Sending before your provider’s daily deadline and accounting for public holidays in both countries can prevent avoidable payment delays.
- Incorrect beneficiary details are a common cause of payment holds: Verify the recipient’s legal name, account number, SWIFT/BIC code, bank details, and payment reference before sending, especially for a new supplier.
- Local rails and multi-currency balances can make recurring payments faster: Direct local routing reduces intermediary-bank involvement, while holding funds in your supplier’s currency can remove an additional conversion step.
- WorldFirst can help businesses speed up recurring international supplier payments: By supporting local payment routes, multi-currency balances, batch payments, and FX tools such as forward contracts, the World Account can reduce payment friction and give Malaysian businesses greater control over when suppliers receive their funds.
Open a World Account to send supplier payments through local rails where available and get full visibility on timing before you confirm each transfer.
How long do international money transfers usually take?
It depends on which rail carries the payment. Each method routes your money differently, and that routing is what drives the timeline:
| Method |
Typical timing |
Why |
| Local payment rails (where supported) |
Same-day to next business day |
Funds move directly within the destination country’s domestic network, skipping intermediary banks |
| Standard SWIFT transfer |
3 to 6 business days |
Message and funds often pass through one or more correspondent banks before reaching the beneficiary |
| Traditional bank telegraphic transfer (TT) |
1 to 5 business days |
Depends on destination, currency, receiving bank and any checks along the route |
A telegraphic transfer is simply an international SWIFT or wire transfer instructing one bank to pay a beneficiary at another bank. It’s distinct from Malaysia’s domestic real-time rails like FPX and DuitNow, and from batch-based IBG transfers, none of which move money across borders.
The reason local rails beat SWIFT on speed comes down to how many parties touch the payment. SWIFT’s own data shows that when a payment does hit delays, it’s typically at the beneficiary side, caused by factors in the receiving country such as market infrastructure opening hours, local regulatory checks, or the receiving bank confirming the payment is expected before crediting it.
Read more:
How fast can an international money transfer be?
If you submit a payment on a supported major corridor before the daily cut-off, funds can reach the beneficiary bank within hours; miss the cut-off or send outside that list, and you’re looking at 24 to 72 business hours instead.
The hours-versus-days split comes down to two separate clocks running at once:
- The first clock is transmission speed, which SWIFT’s data shows is genuinely fast for the vast majority of payments.
- The second clock is crediting speed, and it’s largely outside the sender’s control once the payment leaves your account.
For a Penang electronics importer paying a Shenzhen supplier’s deposit on a Tuesday morning before cut-off, this typically means the payment can be at the supplier’s bank within hours.
For a Johor trading firm sending funds late on a Friday to a smaller receiving bank, the same payment might not even start its transmission clock until Monday, and could then take another 1 to 3 working days beyond that on top of any beneficiary-side crediting delay.
Why is my international payment taking so long?
Most delays trace back to one of six factors, and knowing which one applies helps you diagnose the hold-up instead of just waiting anxiously. These aren’t random; each has a specific mechanism.
- Weekends and public holidays: Cross-border payments run on business days, and mismatched holiday calendars between Malaysia and your supplier’s country (Chinese New Year timing is a classic example) can pause a payment on both ends without any error occurring.
- Missed cut-off times: Every provider has a daily processing deadline; submit before it and your payment moves that business day, submit after it and the clock doesn’t start until the next business day.
- Destination country and receiving bank: A payment to a major bank in a commonly traded currency generally takes a more direct route than one to a smaller regional bank, which may need extra manual processing.
- Intermediary banks: Each correspondent bank a payment passes through can add processing time and, in some cases, deduct its own charges before passing funds along.
- Incorrect or incomplete details: A mismatched beneficiary name, wrong account number, missing SWIFT/BIC code, or absent invoice reference can put a payment on hold until it’s manually corrected.
- Compliance and screening checks: Know-your-customer checks, sanctions screening, and requests to confirm the purpose of a transaction are standard practice and can add time, particularly on larger or first-time payments.
How to make international payments faster from Malaysia
You can meaningfully shorten most of these delays with a handful of practical habits, because several of the six delay factors above are within your control before you hit send:
- Submit before the daily cut-off: Confirm your provider’s cut-off time and treat it as a hard deadline, especially on Fridays or ahead of public holidays in either country.
- Pre-verify beneficiary details: Double-check the beneficiary name exactly as it appears on their bank account, the account number, the SWIFT/BIC code, and the bank’s registered address before submitting.
- Use local-rail corridors where they’re supported: For the seven major same-day pairs, using a provider that routes through local rails avoids the intermediary-bank chain that slows standard SWIFT transfers.
- Hold balances in your supplier’s currency: Keeping a receiving or multi-currency balance in the currency you regularly pay out in removes a same-day conversion step from your payment.
- Batch recurring supplier runs: If you pay multiple suppliers or the same supplier in instalments, batching payments together reduces the number of individual cut-off windows you need to track.
- Consider a forward contract for large or recurring deposits: Locking in a rate ahead of a scheduled payment decouples your supplier’s payment timing from day-to-day FX volatility, so you’re not rushing a transfer just to catch a favourable rate.
Time supplier payments more precisely with WorldFirst
International payment speed matters because it affects when cash has to leave your business. If a bank TT may take several days, Malaysian importers often build extra time into the payment schedule and send funds earlier than the supplier actually requires.
Take a Johor importer with US$40,000 due to a Shenzhen supplier on Thursday before finished goods can be released. Rather than sending the payment several days early to account for an uncertain route, the business can fund its World Account beforehand and use an available local payment route closer to the due date. Supported corridors can settle on the same business day, while timing for other routes depends on the currency, destination and receiving bank.
FX timing can be separated from payment timing too. If the invoice amount is known weeks ahead, a forward contract can secure the exchange rate in advance without requiring the supplier payment to be sent at the same time. Batch payments can also reduce admin when several supplier invoices fall due together.
WorldFirst isn’t a bank. In Malaysia, it operates through AIMY Merchant Services Sdn. Bhd., licensed and regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia under a Class A licence for money changing and remittance business. Lending, payroll, cash management and wider domestic banking services remain with your bank, while WorldFirst can support the international payment side of the business. Safeguarded client funds are not PIDM-insured bank deposits.
Open a World Account to send supplier payments closer to their due date with clearer visibility over expected transfer timing.
FAQs
1. How long does it take to receive an international payment with WorldFirst?
It depends on the currency and country pair. For seven major corridors, including EUR to Europe, GBP to the UK, USD to the US, SGD to Singapore, HKD or USD to Hong Kong, AUD to Australia, and NZD to New Zealand, payments can arrive same-day.
For every other combination, allow 1 to 3 working days, and note that the receiving bank may take an additional working day beyond that to credit the funds to the actual account, even after the money has technically arrived.
2. Why is my international payment taking so long?
Six factors typically explain a slow payment:
- Weekends and public holidays pausing business-day processing
- Missing your provider’s daily cut-off time
- The destination country or receiving bank’s own processes
- Intermediary banks adding steps along the route
- Incorrect or incomplete beneficiary details triggering a manual hold
- Standard compliance checks such as sanctions screening or requests to confirm the purpose of the transaction
If you’ve ruled these out and a payment still seems delayed, checking with your provider’s support team is the fastest way to identify which factor applies.
Disclaimer:
This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. WorldFirst makes no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy, completeness or applicability of the content and readers are encouraged to consult with legal professionals or other professionals for advice tailored to their specific situation. WorldFirst does not guarantee the accuracy and completeness of this article and expressly disclaims any and all liability to any person in respect of the consequences of anything done or omitted to be done wholly or partly in reliance on this article.
Sources:
- https://www.swift.com/news-events/press-releases/swift-cross-border-payment-processing-speed-stretches-further-ahead-g20-target
- https://www.swift.com/news-events/news/swift-data-shows-focus-needed-beneficiary-leg-faster-international-payments
- https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2025-12/Ipsos%20Press%20Release%20-%20E-payment%20trends%202025%20-%20021225.pdf
