Why did the recipient receive less than the full amount I sent?

If a wire recipient received less than the amount you sent, the most likely cause is that an intermediary bank or the recipient's own bank deducted a processing fee along the way. Meow does not charge fees on outgoing wires — if the full amount left your Meow account, any shortfall at the destination is from the banking chain, not from us.

How international wires get routed

International wires typically pass through one or more intermediary banks before reaching the recipient's bank. Each bank in the chain has the right to deduct a correspondent banking fee from the wire amount. These fees vary by institution and are outside of Meow's control or visibility.

This means:

• Meow sends: $486

• Intermediary bank deducts: $12 processing fee

• Recipient receives: $474

Meow has no involvement in or knowledge of what intermediary banks charge — we only confirm what was sent from your account.

How to verify what Meow sent

Check your Meow transaction history to confirm the exact amount that was debited from your account. If the full intended amount was debited from your Meow account, the deduction happened downstream.

How can I ensure my recipient gets the full amount?

If it's important that the recipient receives an exact amount after fees, you can:

1. Send a larger amount to cover anticipated intermediary fees (typically $10–$35 for international USD wires, though this varies).

2. Ask your recipient to check with their bank whether they can receive wires on a "full payment" or "OUR charges" basis, where the sender covers all fees — this is a standard SWIFT instruction type.

Does this happen with domestic wires too?

Domestic wires within the U.S. are less likely to have intermediary bank deductions, but it can happen depending on the receiving bank's policies. If a domestic recipient reports receiving less than the sent amount, ask them to check with their bank whether any incoming wire fee was applied.