Sending money abroad through a US bank, credit union or money transmitter comes with federal consumer rights that most senders never use: a written price before you pay, half an hour to change your mind, and a formal process that ends with a refund or redelivery when the provider gets it wrong. They come from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Remittance Rule, Subpart B of Regulation E (12 CFR 1005.30 to 1005.36). Below, each right is set out with its limits and the steps to use it, followed by dated examples. Costs and payment options are covered in the money transfer hub.
Which transfers does the Remittance Rule cover?
It covers electronic transfers over $15 that consumers in the US send abroad for personal or family purposes, through providers that handle remittances in the normal course of business.
Each part of that sentence is a test. The sender must be a consumer, meaning an individual acting mainly for personal, family or household reasons, and located in a state, which for this rule includes the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US territories. The money must go electronically to a designated recipient at a location abroad, and you can be your own designated recipient, for example when you move savings to an account in another country. The provider must send remittance transfers in the normal course of business, which the rule presumes it doesn't if it made 500 or fewer of them in both the previous calendar year and the current one. A provider that crosses 500 gets up to six months to start complying.
Banks, credit unions and money transmitters can all be providers, and the payment method doesn't decide coverage: cash handed to an agent, an international wire from your checking account and an online transfer to a relative's account abroad can all qualify.
| Situation | Covered? |
|---|---|
| $200 paid in cash at an agent for a sibling in Colombia | Yes |
| $3,000 wired from your checking account to your own savings account in Germany | Yes; you can be the recipient yourself |
| $12 sent to a cousin abroad | No; $15 or less |
| Your company paying a supplier's invoice in China | No; not for personal purposes |
| A hotel bill in Lisbon paid with your credit card | No; a card payment to a foreign merchant |
| $500 sent to a relative in San Juan, Puerto Rico | No; Puerto Rico counts as a state |
| A credit union that sent 300 remittances last year and 200 so far this year | No; it's under the 500-transfer threshold |
| A check mailed to a relative abroad | No; the transfer isn't electronic |
When a transfer falls outside the rule, other protections may still apply, from state money transmitter laws to the provider's own terms, but the federal rights below don't. Payments for work are a separate subject, covered in our guide to paying international contractors, and money arriving in the US is covered in receiving money from abroad.
What must the provider show you before you pay?
A written disclosure of the amount sent, the provider's fees and taxes, the total, the exchange rate, other covered fees and the exact amount your recipient will receive.
| Disclosure line | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Transfer Amount | What you're sending, in dollars |
| Transfer Fees and Transfer Taxes | What the provider adds on top, including taxes it collects, such as the 1% federal tax on cash-funded transfers |
| Total | The transfer amount plus those fees and taxes: the figure you actually pay |
| Exchange Rate | The rate the provider uses, rounded to between two and four decimal places |
| Other Fees | Covered fees charged by other parties, such as an intermediary bank or the payout agent, shown in the payout currency |
| Total to Recipient | What arrives, in the payout currency, after those other fees |
| Statement on other charges | Where they can apply, a note that the recipient's bank fees and foreign taxes may reduce the amount received |
The disclosure must come after you ask for the transfer and before you pay, and the figures must still be accurate when you pay. It is usually in writing, in English and, at many locations, in the main foreign language the provider uses to advertise there; for a transfer arranged entirely by phone it can be given orally.
Estimates are allowed only in narrow cases: when the receiving country's laws or the way payouts work there make an exact figure impossible, for transfers scheduled five or more business days ahead, and for some insured banks and credit unions that send few transfers to a given country or institution. Any estimate has to be labeled as one.
The line worth the most attention is Total to Recipient. Comparing it across providers for the same dollar amount shows which one delivers more, and dividing it by the Total gives your effective exchange rate after fees. Measure that against the mid-market exchange rate, which you can look up on our currency converter.
What does the receipt add?
It repeats the price figures and adds when the money will be available, who will receive it, your rights, and whom to contact with questions or complaints.
- The Date Available in the recipient's country, sometimes with a note that the money could arrive sooner
- The recipient's name, plus any phone number or address you gave
- A statement of your cancellation and error-resolution rights
- The provider's name, phone number and website
- The state agency that licenses the provider, and the CFPB's toll-free number and website
- For a transfer scheduled three or more business days ahead, the date it will be sent
You get the receipt when you pay. A provider may instead put everything in one disclosure before payment and give you proof of payment afterward, and if you arrange a transfer entirely by phone, the receipt can be mailed or delivered up to one business day later. Hold on to it: the Date Available starts the clock for error claims, and the confirmation number is how the provider finds your transfer.
How do you cancel a transfer, and when is it too late?
Contact the provider within 30 minutes of paying and identify the transfer; unless the money was already collected, you're refunded in full within three business days.
The right lasts 30 minutes after paying, for a full refund (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as of Nov 1, 2026). A request can be oral or written, and the provider must accept it for the whole half hour even if the counter closes in the meantime, for example through the phone number on the receipt. Give your name, a phone number or address, and something that pins down the transfer, such as the confirmation code. The refund covers the transfer amount and every fee, including fees imposed by third parties, plus taxes to the extent the law allows. If you paid cash, the provider may refund you by check.
The right ends early in one situation: when the money has already been picked up or deposited into the recipient's account. With instant deposits and cash that's ready in minutes, that can happen well inside 30 minutes, so cancel at once if you spot a mistake. Providers are free to offer a longer window than the rule requires.
Scheduled transfers work differently. For a transfer set up at least three business days in advance, your cancellation must reach the provider at least three business days before the scheduled date. Cancel a recurring series and the cancellation covers every future transfer unless you say it's only for the next one.
Worked example: Cancelling a cash transfer inside the window
- At 5:50 p.m. you pay $400, a $4.99 fee and $4.00 of federal remittance tax (1% of $400), a total of $408.99
- At 6:05 p.m. you notice the recipient's surname is misspelled; the money hasn't been collected
- You call the number on the receipt with the confirmation code before the 6:20 p.m. deadline
- The provider owes you $400 + $4.99 = $404.99 within three business days, plus the $4.00 tax to the extent the law allows, and may refund cash by check
Under Treasury's proposed rules, the 1% may have to be reclaimed from the IRS rather than the provider; the remittance transfer tax guide explains why.
What counts as an error under the rule?
Five problems count: a wrong charge, a calculation mistake, less money delivered than promised, late or missing delivery, and your requests for documentation or clarification.
| What happened | Error? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You paid $310, but the receipt's Total was $305 | Yes | An incorrect amount paid |
| Your recipient got Q2,250 instead of the Q2,295 on the receipt | Yes | Less than disclosed, unless the gap came from a labeled estimate or from foreign taxes or non-covered fees the disclosure warned about |
| The money arrived two days after the Date Available | Yes | Late delivery, unless one of the exceptions below applies |
| A stranger collected the cash using your recipient's details | Yes | Pickup by someone other than the designated recipient |
| You ask whether a transfer has arrived before its Date Available | No | A routine status inquiry |
| You want copies of receipts for your tax records | No | A request for tax or recordkeeping information |
| Your recipient asked to be paid in dollars instead of pesos | No | A change the recipient requested |
| You sent money to someone who turned out to be a scammer | No | The money reached the person you named |
Late delivery isn't an error when it results from extraordinary circumstances outside the provider's control that it couldn't reasonably anticipate, such as war, civil unrest, a natural disaster or sudden government restrictions like currency controls. Delays caused by fraud screening or by sanctions and anti-money-laundering checks are excluded too, as are transfers you made with fraudulent intent. A wrong account number or bank code you supplied can also take the provider off the hook, but only under strict conditions: among them, it must have warned you before payment that a wrong number could cost you the money, the funds must have landed in someone else's account, and it must have promptly tried to recover them.
How do you report an error and get your money back?
Notify the provider within 180 days of the Date Available on your receipt; it then has 90 days to investigate and must fix any error it confirms.
Gather the receipt and what actually happened
Have the receipt or confirmation number ready, along with what your recipient actually got, the date it arrived and the dates you contacted anyone about it.
Notify the provider before the deadline
The deadline is 180 days from the date the receipt said the money would be available. A phone call or a letter counts, and telling the agent where you paid counts as telling the provider. Give your name and a phone number or address, the recipient's name and any contact details you have for them, the transfer, and why you think there's an error. If you first asked for documents to work out what went wrong, you have until 60 days after the provider sent them, if that is later.
Let the provider investigate
It has 90 days from receiving your notice to reach a decision, and three business days after finishing to report the result to you, including the remedies available.
Choose your remedy
If less arrived than promised, or nothing arrived, choose between a refund of the shortfall and delivery of the missing amount at no extra cost to you or your recipient. When the money was late or never arrived, the provider must also refund the fees, including any charged by third parties such as an intermediary bank, plus taxes where the law allows. It must act within one business day of your instructions, or as soon as reasonably practicable. If you don't choose within a reasonable time, it may apply a default remedy it has told you about.
If the provider finds no error
It must explain its findings in writing, addressing your specific complaint, and tell you that you can ask for copies of the documents it relied on, which it then has to send promptly.
Mistakes in the details you supplied are handled differently. If a transfer failed because you gave incorrect or insufficient information, such as an address or name the payout agent couldn't match, the provider must refund the transfer amount and its own fee within three business days of its report, though it may keep fees a third party has already deducted; you can ask it to put the money toward a new transfer instead. The rule's official commentary works through a case in which a $100 transfer with a $10 fee loses $15 to a correspondent bank before it bounces, leaving a refund of $110 − $15 = $95.
What does an error claim look like with real dates?
It runs on fixed deadlines: 180 days to report, 90 days to investigate and one business day to deliver the remedy you choose.
Worked example: A Q45 shortfall on a transfer to Guatemala
The sender paid from a checking account, so no federal remittance tax applied. The exchange rate is illustrative.
- Paid: $300 plus a $4.99 fee, a Total of $304.99
- Receipt: 7.65 quetzales per dollar, so Total to Recipient = $300 × 7.65 = Q2,295.00, with a Date Available of March 4, 2026
- Paid out: Q2,250.00, which is Q45.00 short, with no estimate or extra charges disclosed
- Deadline to report: 180 days after March 4, 2026, which is August 31, 2026
- Reported: March 11, 2026, by phone, quoting the confirmation number
- Investigation deadline: 90 days after March 11, 2026, which is June 9, 2026, with the report due within three business days of finishing
- Remedy: either Q45.00 ÷ 7.65 = $5.88 refunded, or Q45.00 delivered to the recipient at no cost, within one business day of the sender's choice
Had nothing arrived at all, the remedy would also have included a refund of the $4.99 fee.
Worked example: A family wire that arrived four days late
- Sent: $2,000 from a checking account to a relative's bank in India for a family expense
- Charges: a $40 wire fee, plus a $20 intermediary bank fee shown under Other Fees
- Receipt: Date Available June 5, 2026; the money was credited June 9, 2026, with no screening hold, emergency or wrong details involved
- Error: failure to make the funds available by the disclosed date
- Remedy: the money has arrived, so nothing is left to deliver, but every fee for the transfer must be refunded: $40 + $20 = $60
How intermediary deductions arise is explained in international wire transfer fees, and normal delivery times by method are in how long international transfers take.
What if you were tricked into sending the money?
The rule usually won't help: if the money reached the person you named, there's no error, even if that person deceived you.
Error resolution is about the provider's performance: the right amount, on time, to the right person. When a romance scammer or a fake government official talks you into a transfer and then collects it, the transfer did exactly what you asked. An impostor who collects cash meant for your real recipient is a different case, because a pickup by someone other than the designated recipient is an error the provider has to resolve.
Speed matters most. If the money hasn't been collected, cancel inside the 30 minutes or call the provider straight away and ask it to stop the payout. Then report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission, your local police and your state attorney general; if the victim is an older adult, the Eldercare Locator at (800) 677-1116 can connect you with adult protective services. If you paid by card, ask your card issuer whether it can dispute the charge. Our guide to money transfer scams covers the patterns to watch for.
How do you complain to the CFPB?
Submit a complaint online at consumerfinance.gov/complaint or by phone at (855) 411-2372; the CFPB sends it to the company, which usually responds within 15 days.
Choose the "money transfers, virtual currency, and money services" category, describe what happened and what you want in your own words, and attach the receipt and your messages with the provider, up to 50 pages. Put everything in one complaint, because the CFPB generally won't take a second one about the same problem. Some companies reply that they need more time and send a final answer within 60 days, and you then have 60 days to tell the CFPB whether the response settled things. Phone lines are open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, Monday to Friday, with TTY at (855) 729-2372. The state agency named on your receipt, which licenses the provider, takes complaints as well. The online form is on the CFPB complaint page.
The Remittance Rule protects the transfer itself; tax questions about the same money are separate, from gift tax on money sent abroad to Form 3520 for large gifts you receive and the FBAR for accounts you hold abroad.
These rights are federal minimums, and the rules behind them can change; state laws and your provider's terms may give you more. This guide isn't legal or tax advice. If a dispute involves a large sum, or a canceled cash transfer leaves the 1% remittance tax in question, a consumer attorney or tax professional can look at the specifics.