A wire transfer routing number identifies the financial agency that makes the wire transfer.
A wire transfer is simply a means of transferring money that has an electronic item. It could be a purely online transfer from one bank account to another, a system whereby a person deposits money in one place for someone to withdraw it elsewhere, or a combination of both. The bank transfer number can refer to the bank accounts used for the transaction or the reference number used for the transfer itself.
The traditional way of bank transfer involves outlets. A customer will visit a branch of an electronic transfer network and hand over the money, along with details of who is to withdraw it. That person can pick it up at any branch in the network, most commonly in another country. Popular uses of this include people who work in one country sending money to relatives in their home country, and people who are transferring money to someone traveling abroad who is in financial difficulty.
In this context, the bank transfer number is often a reference to the specific transaction, sometimes referred to as a Money Transfer Control Number. In most cases, the person who will withdraw the money will only need to present proper identification at the branch where they wish to receive it, and the electronic transfer number will simply be an alternative check. In other cases, the person collecting the money may need to provide the number as part of the verification process.
A wire transfer can also refer to a transfer between bank accounts. This is usually done online. In this situation, the bank transfer number can refer to several numbers. One would be the bank account number where the money goes. Another is the bank routing number used by the recipient of the money, which sometimes also identifies the specific branch where your account is open.
In the United States, this number is known as the American Banking Association routing number. In other countries, it may have a different name. For example, in the UK it is commonly known as a classification code. Banks may also have a separate number, especially for international transfers. Transfers within the European Union use the International Bank Account Number, while international transfers using a system called SWIFT use a standardized eight-letter code to identify the bank, country and region, with another three numbers to identify the specific branch.