Correspondent bank

A correspondent bank is a bank that passes a payment on for another bank, because most banks do not hold accounts with most other banks. Your transfer may cross two or three of them without your choosing any.\n\nThis is why international payments cost what they cost and arrive when they arrive: each bank in the chain takes its own cut and runs its own checks. It is also why a payment can land short. Fewer banks in the path means cheaper and faster.