The person wishing to do a transfer (or someone who he has appointed and empowered financially to act on his behalf) goes to the bank and gives the bank the order to transfer a certain amount of money. IBAN and BIC code are given as well so the bank knows where the money needs to be sent to. The sending bank transmits a message, via a secure system (such as SWIFT or Fedwire), to the receiving bank, requesting that it effect payment according to the instructions given. The message also includes settlement instructions. The actual transfer is not instantaneous: funds may take several hours or even days to move from the sender's account to the receiver's account. Either the banks involved must hold a reciprocal account with each other, or the payment must be sent to a bank with such an account, a correspondent bank, for further benefit to the ultimate recipient.