An international payment instruction is the request by which a customer tells their bank or payment provider to transfer money to a recipient in another country. It is a specific type of payment instruction. A complete instruction usually includes the amount and currency, the beneficiary's name and address, the beneficiary's account number or IBAN, the beneficiary bank's SWIFT code, any intermediary bank, a payment reference, the purpose of payment where required, and the charge option under the OUR, SHA and BEN codes.
The bank converts the customer's instruction into an interbank message, such as an ISO 20022 pacs.008 or a legacy SWIFT MT103. Corporate clients often submit instructions electronically in bulk, for example as pain.001 files. Incomplete or inaccurate instructions are a major cause of delays, repairs and returned payments, so banks validate details before sending.