Have you sent Swiss francs from Switzerland, but the money hasn’t reached your Italian account yet? To work out what to do, start by tracing the transfer: check whether the payment has been sent, which stage is still pending and when the expected processing time begins.
Which stage are you waiting for?
A transfer from Switzerland to Italy can follow different routes.
If you use your bank directly, the money is transferred to the recipient’s account and converted according to the procedures of the banks involved.
If you use a currency exchange service, you send the CHF to the service, and the amount in EUR is then transferred to the destination account.
This distinction helps you ask the right question. Are you waiting for the Swiss francs to reach the exchange service, or for the euros to arrive in your Italian account? What you need to check depends on the answer.
To learn more about the conversion process, read our article Switzerland–Italy transfers: where should you convert CHF to EUR?.
What to check on your transfer receipt
Open the transaction details in your online banking and check the status first. An order that has been entered or scheduled for a future date is different from a payment that has already been sent. The wording may vary between banks.
Then check:
- Execution date: when the bank processed the payment, rather than when you entered the order.
- Amount and currency: these should match the transaction you intended to make.
- IBAN and recipient: compare them with the bank details provided by the recipient or exchange service.
- Transaction reference: keep the bank’s payment reference, if available.
An international transfer receipt is useful when requesting a check, but it needs to be read alongside the transaction status. Confirmation that an order has been entered does not, on its own, prove that the recipient has received the funds.
If you find an error in the bank details, contact the sending bank immediately and ask what to do next.
How to assess transfer times from Switzerland to Italy
To understand whether a transfer is delayed, compare the time that has passed with the expected timeframe for that specific transaction.
Payment cut-off times can affect the day on which a transfer is processed. For standard transfers, weekends and public holidays can also affect the timing, so simply counting calendar hours may give you the wrong impression.
Also check when the stated timeframe starts. It may run from the bank’s execution date or, for a currency exchange service, from the moment it receives the funds to be converted.
For example, you might enter a transfer in the evening, but the bank processes it on the next business day. In this hypothetical case, the time since you entered the order is different from the time since the bank processed it.
Check for any requests for information
Before contacting support, check any messages from the service, including emails, your spam folder and notifications in your account.
You may have been asked for documents or further information needed to proceed. This does not mean every delay is caused by a check, but an unanswered request is worth looking into.
Swimo’s terms of service provide for identity and source-of-funds checks, as well as requests for additional documents. If a required document is missing, the transaction may be put on hold.
Who to contact and what information to provide
Who you should contact depends on which stage you need to check.
| Situation | What to check first | Who to contact |
|---|---|---|
| The payment is still scheduled or awaiting execution | Scheduled date and status in your online banking | Sending bank |
| The bank shows the transfer as sent, but the exchange service has not confirmed receipt | Receipt, bank details, amount and currency | Exchange service; sending bank to check the outgoing payment |
| The service confirms that the EUR payment has been sent, but the money has not reached your account | Outgoing transfer details and destination account | Exchange service for the payment references; recipient bank to check the incoming payment |
When requesting help, have the receipt, execution date, amount, currency and transaction reference ready. Also explain which confirmations you have already received.
If you used Swimo for your currency exchange
With Swimo, the funds are credited to the destination account within 24 business hours of Swimo receiving them. The time it takes for the initial transfer to reach Swimo comes before this 24-hour period.
If you are waiting for the money to arrive, check the transaction in your account and look for any messages. If the expected timeframe has passed, contact the team with your exchange reference and attach the transfer receipt.
You can find the available channels on our Contact page. The team can check the relevant stage and explain what to do next.
Frequently asked questions
How can I tell whether a transfer has arrived?
Receipt must be confirmed at the recipient’s end: by checking the account transactions or, if you sent the funds to a currency exchange service, asking it to confirm receipt. A “sent” or “executed” status at the sending bank refers to the outgoing payment and should not be confused with the final credit to the recipient’s account.
Will a transfer made on Friday arrive on Monday?
There is no universal rule. For a standard transfer, the execution time, public holidays, payment network and the terms of the providers involved all matter. Check the timeframe your bank gives for your payment.
What details are needed to check a transfer?
Have the receipt ready, showing the date, amount, currency, sender and recipient, along with the payment reference, if available. If the transfer involves a currency exchange, include the exchange request reference too.
