Overview
Wire is a method of moving money from one bank account to another in the US. Wires settle same day and are irrevocable (meaning that once the money is sent, it can't be retrieved). Wires are convenient for funding payrolls as soon as possible, but they come with risk.
Benefits of funding payrolls by wire
Because wires settle faster than ACH, they can be used in scenarios where speed is necessary. Most commonly, they allow companies to:
Fund payroll later: Payrolls can be funded via wire as late as 4:00pm ET on payday, and still have payments settle in employees’ bank accounts on the payday. If your company misses the approval deadline to fund a payroll by ACH, you might want to fund the payroll by wire to ensure your employees still get paid on payday.
Resolve failed funding: If a company experiences a failed funding, Salaris will encourage you to fund the payroll via wire.
Risk when funding payrolls by wire
The standard method of funding payrolls is via ACH debit. ACH debits take longer than wires, but because they are initiated by Salaris, there is less room for fraud.
Wires must be initiated by the company, which leaves room for error and fraud. Wires can be sent to the wrong recipient (either by accident or by fraud), in which case it can be challenging to get the funds back.
How to fund payrolls by wire
Should payroll need to be funded by wire - for example, because of a failed ACH payment - the Salaris team will communicate directly with you on how to perform this.
Step 1: Confirm that a wire is required for the specific payroll run.
Step 2: Contact the payroll administrator (usually via phone) to inform that a wire transfer is needed for timely funding.
Step 3: While on the call, send the verified wire instructions via email.
Step 4: Have the payroll administrator read back or confirm the routing and account details verbally to ensure accuracy.
Step 5: Once the wire is sent, the Salaris team will confirm receipt internally.
Step 6: The payroll administrator will be contacted and told that the funds have been received and payroll is cleared for processing.
To ensure timely processing and reduce risk, wires must:
Be for the exact amount specified
Use the exact unique routing and bank account communicated by Salaris
If funds are wired to the wrong account, you could lose the full amount of your payroll, so please be diligent and check every detail of the wire.
Since Salaris does not initiate the wire transfer, Salaris needs to wait for the incoming funds and then reconcile them against the correct payroll. Depending on when you communicate with your bank, this could take several hours. Funds must be received and reconciled by specific times to ensure timely payment of employees:
To ensure Employees are paid by 8:30am ET on payday: Wired funds must be received by 5pm ET the day before payday.
To ensure Employees are paid by 6pm ET on payday: Wired funds must be received by 4pm ET on payday.
To reduce risk of paying employees late, wires should be initiated 2-4 hours before the specified cutoff times.
Need Help?
If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Salaris Payroll Support. We’re here to help.