Wire transfer, sometimes referred as a telegraphic transfer, implies transfer of money from one bank account to another; electronically. During the process of wire transfer, no actual cash is touched or seen by the sender or the receiver as there is no actual exchange of cash. Almost all the banks are providing the convenience of wire transfer after a positive verification of both the parties.

Wire transfer is also a very popular method of payment for banking transactions. You can make payments against your credit card bills or shopping bills, maintain your personal account by transferring funds from savings account to current account. All these transactions are generally free to the customer, but a fee often convoys for other wire transfers. The charges are sometimes fixed or based on a percentage of the total amount being transferred.
How to perform a wire transfer?

You are not required to visit any location for conducting a transfer. Transfer of funds can be easily done via internet from office or home. Here are a few steps to be followed while performing a wire transfer:

Step 1: You can just login to your Internet banking website. Not all banks have Internet banking facility, in which case, you will have to contact your bank by phone or fax.
Step 2: Fill in the details of your beneficiary such as his account number, the account type, the name of the person, the telephone number or the e-mail address and the branch name.
Step 3: Identify and enter the correct amount you wish to transfer.
Step 4: Submit the details to the bank and complete the transaction. The bank then transfers the amount to the recipients account after proper validation.
Step 5: You should ask for an acknowledgement from the bank through fax or e-mail or contact the recipient so as to confirm that the transaction has taken place successfully.
 

Things to remember:

Before conducting a wire transfer through internet make sure that your bank's website is secured and doesn't contain any loopholes which may result in hacking.
Not all but some banks do charge for making wire transfers, always ask for the charges before proceeding.
The wire transfer is immediate for intra-bank (same bank) transfers. However, the transfer takes around two working days in case of inter-bank (different bank) transfers.

Advantages of wire transfer:

A wire transfer is safest and fastest method to transfer money from one location to another.
It is a hassle free and automatic way of transferring funds to your near and dear ones.
Wire transfer reduces paperwork by eliminating the need for cheques and deposit slips.
It is the convenient and user-friendly form of payment.

Wire transfer also has some loopholes. If you use your ATM or credit card to purchase something from a retail outlet, the seller can falsely provide wrong information to the sender of the wire transfer. The money can reach the receiver with the false ID and he can disappear without even providing the promised goods. Some illegal activities are taking place by anonymous method of wire transfer.