Your client sent the full invoice. Your account received less. Here is how to find the deduction, understand OUR, SHA and BEN, and decide who should investigate or pay the shortfall.
An international wire may arrive short because an intermediary bank, the receiving bank, a payment provider or a currency-conversion step deducted money before final credit. The difference does not automatically mean your client underpaid. Compare the invoice, sender’s records, transfer instructions and final credit before deciding where the missing amount went.
A client owes you $2,000.
They send a receipt showing a $2,000 transfer.
Your receiving account shows $1,975.
The client believes the invoice is settled. You are still missing $25.
This is the point where a routine payment turns into an awkward conversation. You do not want to accuse a good client of underpaying. You also should not quietly absorb an unexplained deduction every month. You should know: Which stage changed the amount, what record proves it, and who owns the next action?
Why can an international wire arrive below the invoice amount?
International wires can pass through several institutions before reaching the beneficiary. A transfer may involve the sender’s bank, one or more correspondent banks, the receiving institution and a separate currency-conversion step.
The Bank for International Settlements explains that correspondent banks may form a payment chain, with several intermediary institutions involved in one underlying cross-border transaction. Each institution may apply its own processing rules, charges or conversion method.
A short payment commonly comes from one of these places:
Possible cause | Where it happens | What to check first |
Sender’s bank fee | At payment initiation | Was the fee charged separately or taken from the transfer amount? |
Intermediary bank fee | During the correspondent-bank route | Does the detailed transfer record show a lifting or correspondent fee? |
Receiving-bank fee | When the beneficiary account is credited | Does the account statement show an incoming-transfer charge? |
Currency conversion | Before or during final credit | Were the sent and received currencies different? |
Tax or statutory deduction | During processing or receipt | Does the transfer disclosure mention taxes or local deductions? |
Client sent the net amount incorrectly | Before the transfer entered the banking route | Does the sender’s debit record match the invoice total? |
The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau confirms that third-party processors, intermediary institutions, recipient banks and foreign taxes can cause the recipient to receive less than the sender expected. Its regulations refer to wire-transfer deductions imposed by intermediary institutions as “lifting fees.”
A receipt showing that the client initiated $2,000 is useful evidence. It does not always prove that the full $2,000 entered the final receiving account.
Use the five-number short-payment check
Before contacting support, write down five numbers:
Expected amount: the amount and currency shown on the invoice.
Sender’s transfer amount: the principal amount shown on the client’s transfer record.
Sender’s total debit: the amount removed from the client’s account, including any separately charged bank fee.
Credited amount: the amount and currency that reached your account.
Unexplained shortfall: the remaining difference after all disclosed charges and conversions.
For example:
Record | Amount |
Invoice total | $2,000 |
Transfer principal | $2,000 |
Client’s separate bank charge | $15 |
Amount credited to freelancer | $1,975 |
Unexplained shortfall | $25 |
The client’s total debit may have been $2,015. That still does not explain why you received $1,975.
The $15 belongs to the sender’s side. The missing $25 occurred somewhere between the transfer principal and the final credit.
This distinction keeps the conversation factual.
For a broader explanation of how different receiving routes work, see how Nigerian freelancers receive payments from US, UK and EU clients. That guide covers payer location, currency and transfer rail. This article deals with what to do after the credited amount is wrong.
What are intermediary bank fees?
An intermediary bank fee is a charge applied by a bank that helps route a payment between the sender’s bank and the beneficiary’s institution. A sender’s bank may not have a direct relationship with the bank or payment institution serving the recipient. The payment therefore moves through one or more correspondent banks. The route can look like this:
Client → sending bank → correspondent bank → receiving institution → freelancer
The freelancer usually did not choose the correspondent bank. The client may not know which intermediary was used either.
That is why an intermediary fee can feel invisible. It may not appear as a separate transaction in the sender’s normal banking interface. It may simply reduce the amount forwarded to the next institution.
The number of intermediaries varies by corridor, currency and bank relationships. A SWIFT message is a payment instruction. SWIFT itself is not the bank deducting the money.
The BIS describes cross-border payments as generally slower, more expensive and less transparent than domestic payments, with many payments moving through correspondent-bank chains.
What do OUR, SHA and BEN mean?
OUR, SHA and BEN are charge instructions used in international bank payments. They describe how transfer costs are intended to be allocated.
Instruction | Intended fee allocation | Likely effect on the recipient |
OUR | The sender is instructed to cover transfer charges | Best fit when the full invoice amount is expected to arrive |
SHA | Charges are shared between sender and beneficiary | The beneficiary may receive less than the invoice amount |
BEN | The beneficiary bears the transfer charges | Charges may be deducted from the transferred principal |
These instructions matter, but they are not magic switches.
OUR
OUR is normally the strongest option when a contract requires the full invoiced amount to reach the recipient. The sender may pay more because the bank adds charges to the payment cost.
Do not treat OUR as an unconditional guarantee. The result still depends on the sending bank, the correspondent route, the receiving institution and how the payment instruction is executed.
SHA
SHA means the sender pays charges applied by their bank while the beneficiary bears charges applied later in the route.
If a client selects SHA, the sender can truthfully say, “I sent the full $2,000,” while the freelancer receives $1,975.
BEN
BEN places the charges on the beneficiary. The transfer costs are generally deducted from the principal.
BEN is usually a poor fit for an invoice that must be settled in full unless both parties agreed to that arrangement before payment.
Does your client still owe the missing amount?
The commercial answer depends on the contract and invoice terms. The client is more likely to remain responsible for the shortfall when:
the contract says the invoiced amount must arrive net of transfer charges;
the invoice assigns sender and intermediary fees to the client;
the client selected SHA or BEN despite an agreement to use sender-paid charges;
the client transferred less than the invoiced principal;
the client’s finance team used an unapproved currency or payment route.
Responsibility is less clear when:
the contract says nothing about transfer fees;
both parties agreed to share charges;
the recipient chose a route with a known incoming fee;
the difference came from a conversion the recipient requested;
the sender followed the exact payment instructions provided.
Do not close the invoice automatically because the client has a payment screenshot. Do not demand a second payment before checking whether the missing amount is a delayed credit, conversion difference, tax or receiving fee.
Keep the difference recorded as an unresolved balance until the evidence identifies it. This is operational guidance, not legal advice. The contract, invoice wording and applicable law determine the final obligation.
What evidence should you collect?
A vague support request produces a vague answer.
“Where is my $25?” gives a support agent very little to investigate. Collect the following records:
final invoice;
contract or statement of work;
client’s legal payer name;
payment date;
value date, where shown;
amount and currency on the invoice;
amount and currency sent;
sender’s total debit;
fee instruction, including OUR, SHA or BEN if shown;
transfer reference;
beneficiary details used;
final credited amount;
account statement or credit advice;
any conversion rate applied;
support case number and correspondence.
The payment reference should connect the transaction to the invoice. INV-2026-041 is useful. Design work is not.
The walllet.com IBAN account guide explains why beneficiary name, supported currency, incoming rail and fee responsibility should be checked before giving bank-transfer details to a client.
What should you ask the client to request?
Ask for more than a screenshot. A screenshot may show:
a transfer was created;
the client’s account was debited;
the client entered a particular amount.
It may not show:
the principal amount that entered the wire;
the charge instruction;
intermediary deductions;
a rejected or repaired payment instruction;
a currency conversion;
the amount forwarded to the final institution.
Ask the client or finance team for:
the detailed outgoing-transfer confirmation;
the amount and currency that entered the wire;
the charge instruction used;
confirmation of whether the sender’s fee was charged separately;
any reported correspondent or lifting fee;
the payment reference;
the bank’s trace or investigation result if the deduction remains unexplained.
The sending bank is often the practical starting point because it accepted the original instruction and can inspect the outgoing route. Your receiving provider can confirm whether it charged an incoming fee, but it may not see every upstream deduction.
A client message that keeps the relationship intact
Use neutral language. State the records, the difference and the requested action.
Hi [Name],
Thank you for sending payment for invoice [invoice number]. The receiving account was credited with [received amount], which is [difference] below the invoiced amount of [invoice total].
Could your finance team confirm the principal amount and currency that entered the transfer, the fee instruction used, and whether the bank reported an intermediary or correspondent charge? I have attached the invoice and receiving record for reconciliation.
I will keep the remaining balance open until we can identify the deduction.
This message does three things:
it acknowledges the client’s payment;
it avoids accusing them of withholding money;
it keeps the unpaid difference visible.
If the bank confirms that the client-selected charge arrangement caused the shortfall, write:
Thanks for checking. The transfer records show that [amount] was deducted before final credit. Under the payment terms on invoice [number], the remaining [difference] is still outstanding. Please add it to the next payment or resend it using a sender-paid charge instruction where available.
Mid-article: compare the route before the next invoice
A low headline fee is less useful than knowing what reaches you after receiving charges, conversion and withdrawal.
Check the currently available walllet.com routes for receiving and managing global income.→
Currencies, payment rails, eligibility, fees, limits and review conditions depend on the options shown for the user’s account.
What should an international invoice say about bank charges?
A useful invoice separates the commercial amount from the cost of moving it.
Direct clause
Payment must be made in [currency]. The client is responsible for sender and intermediary bank charges required for the full invoiced amount to reach the payment details provided. Any shortfall remains outstanding unless agreed otherwise in writing.
Softer version for recurring clients
Please ask your bank to send the payment with charges paid by the sender where available. The invoiced amount should arrive in full. Tell me before sending if your bank cannot support this instruction.
Payment-instruction block
Invoice: INV-2026-041
Amount: USD 2,000
Beneficiary name: [Exact verified name]
Transfer method: [Approved transfer rail]
Payment reference: INV-2026-041
Fee instruction: Sender covers transfer charges where supported
Currency instruction: Do not convert without written confirmation
Payment contact: [Email address]
The clause cannot control every bank in the route. It does make the commercial responsibility clearer.
For future invoices, this guide to receiving USD in Nigeria without PayPal explains how sender fit, recipient eligibility, total usable amount and after-receipt access affect route selection.
What if nobody can identify the deduction?
Do not label it an intermediary fee unless the records support that conclusion. Use this failure path:
Confirm the invoice and transfer principal match.
Check whether the client’s bank fee was charged separately.
Confirm the sent and credited currencies.
Ask the receiving institution whether it charged an incoming fee.
Ask the sender’s bank to identify correspondent deductions.
Keep the difference open as an unresolved invoice balance.
Record the current owner and next update date.
Escalate through the provider’s formal error or complaint process where applicable.
A transfer marked “completed” can still be incomplete from the freelancer’s point of view. Completed may mean the sending institution finished its part. It does not necessarily mean the correct amount became available to the beneficiary.
The route-risk guide for held, reviewed or delayed freelance payments covers the wider investigation when the problem is payment status rather than a confirmed shortfall.
How do you prevent another short payment?
Before the next international invoice:
Agree the payment currency.
Confirm which transfer rail the client can use.
Verify the beneficiary name and account details.
State who bears sender, intermediary and receiving charges.
Request a sender-paid instruction when the full invoice must arrive.
Use one invoice reference across every record.
Test a new route before sending a high-value payment.
Keep the contract, invoice, transfer confirmation and final credit record.
Compare total usable money, not one visible fee.
Keep a verified fallback route.
The comparison of PayPal, Payoneer, Wise and stablecoins for Nigerian freelancers can help when the current route repeatedly produces deductions, delays or weak payment evidence.
A professional payment process does not end when the client presses Send. It ends when the correct amount is credited, the records match and both sides can explain any difference.
Check the exact currency, payment rail, eligibility, fees, limits and review conditions shown for your account before adding any route to an invoice.
