Wire transfers and Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments are two fast, convenient methods of electronic payment that can be used when individuals or organizations are paying Stanford for goods or services.
ACH payments are efficient, cost effective and preferred over wire transfers when funds can be electronically transferred. Typically, a supplier or payee will specify when they wish to be paid by ACH. Most governmental agencies transfer funds via ACH when transactions involve large institutions like Stanford. ACH payment funds typically arrive the next day.
ACH payments are primarily an overnight process that go through the automated clearing house before settlement into the university’s bank account. If the funds are to arrive by ACH, instruct the paying party to request their bank use a CCD+ or CTX type ACH format as this allows for more remittance advice details to be included in the addenda field. Remittance advice information could include the name of the payer, purpose or other identifying details. See more information on Managing and Claiming Incoming ACH Transfers below.
Please note: The international SWIFT/BIC codes have changed as of July 2022. You must use the corresponding code, or the wire payment may be returned.
Wire transfers are a same-day form of payment. This method should only be used when it is the only acceptable method of payment. Items that can only be paid by wire transfer include payments to countries where mail delivery is unreliable or banking restrictions pose problems. Depending on wire type and purpose, please provide the appropriate template to the paying party:
| Payment Type | Template |
| Payments to Stanford University's main account | General Template |
| Payment for a student at the university | Students AR Template |
| Gifts or Affiliates payment to the university | Gifts or Affiliates Template |
| Payments to the Office of Sponsored Research | OSR Template |
| Payments to the Graduate School of Business | GSB Template |
Staff that assist in arranging wire transfer or ACH payments to the university are responsible for ensuring that the incoming payment is properly identified and booked to the correct PTA or PFOO. When expecting incoming funds, look for and claim those funds on the Unidentified Receipts portal. For more information, please refer to the Topic Overview: Claim Unidentified Receipts.
Accounts and Sub-Accounts:
Separate bank accounts or sub-accounts may be used to separate a department's receipt activity. Separate accounts are most useful for electronic receipts such as wire transfers and ACH. Payments are sent to bank account numbers specific to each department. Cash received in these accounts flows through to Stanford's central bank account and is invested by the Office of the Treasurer (OOT). Departments can view a daily record of the activity in the account or sub-account by accessing the online bank reporting system. A minimum of 15 electronic receipts per month is required to justify opening a separate bank account or sub-account. Departments requesting bank accounts or sub-accounts are responsible for performing a monthly reconciliation.
Stanford Procurement Services offers a variety of purchasing and payment methods to best support the university’s mission as efficiently as possible while ensuring that the university meets its compliance requirements. ACH Payments and wire transfers can be requested to pay for goods or services where applicable through Expense Requests or iProcurement.
If departments need to return ACH or wire receipts to the original sender, they should utilize the Expense Request System (ERS) to process a Non-PO Payment.
- See the How To: Create Non-PO Payment Request for step by step instructions.
- For more information on ERS, see Learn About: Expense Requests System.
- For information on how to send outgoing wire payments, see How to Request an Outgoing Wire Transfer or ACH Payment.
