Euro Pacific Bank

Migration Update: February 19, 2024


Dear Opt-in Customers,

We hope this message finds you well. For your peace of mind, we would like to increase the frequency of these updates on the migration and liquidation process.

Since our last update at the beginning of the month, we have continued to push for the migration and liquidation processes to begin at the soonest possible date, and we have continued to work alongside the Receiver in connection with his data migration, support, account consolidation, and reconciliation efforts. At this time, however, the migration of opt-in clients to Qenta continues to remain dependent on the Receiver finalizing his liquidation plan and upon him receiving approval on this plan from OCIF.

Please rest assured that we will continue to work diligently to ensure the smooth migration of opt-in customers at the earliest possible date. As mentioned, we will also increase the frequency of the update notices for opt-in customers on the EPB homepage, as well as via email in some cases.

Should you require special assistance, please feel free to contact the EPB Client Services team at any time at [email protected]. We appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding.

If you are an opt-out customer, please remember to visit the dedicated website setup by the Receiver for updates at https://epbprliquidation.com/.

Sincerely,
Euro Pacific Bank.
[email protected]

Outgoing Wire Transfer Fee Types

Every outgoing wire transfer contains a specific code that determines who should pay for the transfer fees levied by all of the banks in the payment chain.

Specifically, based on your preference, we will enter the below codes in the “Correspondent Bank Charges” field of your outgoing wire transfer, known as SWIFT Field 71A.

  • BEN – Intermediary transfer fees are paid by the beneficiary. The payee will receive the payment minus all transfer fees incurred on the payment chain.
  • SHA1 – Intermediary transfer fees are shared. This is the default charge type if no other is selected.
  • OUR – Intermediary transfer fees are paid by the sender. The receiver will receive the full amount of the wire. OUR payments are more expensive in order to cover the cost of the intermediary charges2.

View all outgoing wire transfer fees here. We currently do not offer OUR charge type on outgoing USD wire transfers.3


1Due to EU regulations regarding certain payments made within the SEPA region SHA may be mandatory and the charging instruction will be modified accordingly.
2The Bank reserves the right to amend the additional “OUR” transfer fee after the payment has been sent if the correspondent charges that are ultimately billed substantially deviate from the additional charge.
3In the US market there is no certainty that OUR will be applied by all intermediaries as some of the domestic clearing systems do not specify a charge option and may treat the payment as SHA.

Do I have an IBAN?

Currently, Puerto Rico does not participate in the IBAN (International Bank Account Number) standard. Therefore, Euro Pacific Bank clients do not have IBANs and should revert to their standard MT103 wiring instructions.

If your sending institution is mandating that an IBAN is needed, we recommend that you communicate to them that the transfer is a SWIFT payment, which is routed through a SWIFT code (also known as BIC code) and an account number. Often, many sending institutions request IBANs because they are accustomed to using them.

Can you help me complete my sending bank’s wire form?

As a courtesy, Euro Pacific Bank is happy to advise you how to complete your bank’s wire transfer form in order to successfully transfer funds to your Euro Pacific Bank account.

Please create a case inside your eBanking Support Center with the attachment.

Because banks’ wire forms are often not presented in SWIFT format and vary considerably between banks, we rely on our best judgement in completing your form, but accept no liability if the wire transfer is not successful for any reason.

To guarantee that your wiring instructions are correctly followed, we recommend that you work with the sending bank’s staff and ensure they read our Incoming Wire Transfer Disclaimers.

Why did I receive less money than what was originally wired?

Euro Pacific Bank credits the exact amount we receive from our corresponding bank, with the exception of the Blocked Amount upon your first incoming wire transfer.

Then, we assess an Incoming Wire Transfer Fee.

If the amount we credited is not the amount that was wired from your sending bank, historically that is because another intermediary bank in the payment chain assessed their own wire transfer fee.

Unfortunately, we have no control over what other intermediary banks in the payment chain do, nor can we identify who they are. We accept no liability if the funds were assessed an additional fee by an intermediary bank.

Outgoing Wire Transfer Guidelines

In an effort to continually improve your banking experience for our clients and adapt to the ever-changing regulatory environment, we urge you to follow these best practices to ensure that OUTGOING wires are sent successfully.

Euro Pacific Bank has much more control over outgoing wires, therefore less issues arise. However, please consider these tips:

  1. Economic Purpose – Similar to incoming wires, OUTGOING wires should also contain the economic purpose in SWIFT field 70. If not entered, the wire may be rejected by our correspondent banking network.
  2. Outgoing wire templates – If sending a regular wire, clients can create an outgoing wire template in the online banking platform, which can be used instead of manually filling out the wire form each time.

If you encounter any outgoing wire issues, please contact your Private Banker or email [email protected] with the information above.

Where is my incoming wire transfer?

If your incoming wire transfer that has not been credited to your account within 7 business days, please send us a SWIFT confirmation, also known as a “bank confirmation” or “MT103”, by creating a case inside your eBanking Support Center. (Please do not send us screen prints of your account.)

This will allow our Wires Department to conduct an internal investigation to validate the instructions used and determine whether we received the funds.

If it has not been 7 days since the sending of the transfer, please continue to wait as transfers occasionally come in later than expected.

For questions/comments, you can always call Client Services at +1 888 527 4041 or Schedule a Call. Thank you for being a valued customer of Euro Pacific Bank.

Incoming Wire Transfer Guidelines

In an effort to continually improve your banking experience and adapt to the ever-changing regulatory environment, we urge you to follow these best practices to ensure that INCOMING wires are received successfully:

  1. No PO Box addresses – Wires from bank accounts associated with a PO Boxes will be rejected by our correspondent banking network. **VERY IMPORTANT**
  2. Add Economic Purpose – All incoming wires should include the economic purpose of the payment in the SWIFT field 70 (also known as the “Message to Beneficiary” or Reference/Information field). Wires that do not state the economic purpose will be returned by our correspondent banking network. **VERY IMPORTANT**
  3. Is an Intermediary Bank necessary?
    • If for any reason you cannot specify our Intermediary Bank, you may omit our Intermediary Bank, and thereby acknowledge that the sending bank must retrieve the correct intermediary route from the SWIFT system. By omitting our Intermediary Bank, you risk that your funds are routed to an incorrect or outdated Intermediary Bank. We accept no liability if the wire transfer does not arrive successfully for any reason.
    • If your EPB wire transfer instruction does not include an Intermediary Bank, one will not be required.
  4. Do I have an IBAN? Currently, Puerto Rico does not participate in the IBAN (International Bank Account Number) standard. Therefore, Euro Pacific Bank clients do not have IBANs and should revert to their standard MT103 wiring instructions. Learn more here.
  5. When will I receive my wire transfer? Arrival of your funds depend on the processing time of the sending bank and the intermediary bank(s) in the payment chain. As soon as the funds arrive, we will update your Online Banking recent transactions. Please monitor your transactions before inquiring about the status of your wire transfer.
  6. How much will we charge for the incoming wire? We credit the exact amount our corresponding bank receives, followed by our incoming wire fee. A full list of fees are published here. We accept no liability if an intermediary bank in the payment chain charges a transfer fee.
  7. How do I know where my funds are during transit? Unfortunately, if your funds have not arrived, we have no way of knowing its status. To know exactly where your funds are within the banking channel, please request your sending bank to perform a wire trace.
  8. Wire Repair Fees – A wire repair fee will be assessed if an incoming wire transfer is not executed in proper MT103 format, meaning information is missing, misplaced, incorrect, or a combination. You are responsible for monitoring your Online Banking transactions, and if you are assessed a wire repair fee, that you read the reason and rectify the formatting issue with the sending bank for your future transfers.

We hope this helps and if you encounter wiring issues, please contact our Client Services team by creating a case inside your eBanking Support Center or calling +1-888-527-4041.

LAST UPDATED: OCTOBER 31, 2024

October 31, 2024: Receiver's Report.

October 16, 2024: Receiver's Notice.

October 04, 2024: Migration Update.

April 16, 2024: Receiver's Reports.

April 13, 2024: Migration & Liquidation update.

March 11, 2024: Receiver's Reports.

March 03, 2024: Migration & Liquidation update.

February 19, 2024: Migration & Liquidation update.

February 02, 2024: Migration & Liquidation update.

November 21, 2023: Migration Update (Opt-in Only).

November 20, 2023: Progress Report (Opt-out Only).

September 22, 2023: Report & Communication Portal.

September 01, 2023: Migration & Liquidation update.

July 20, 2023: Migration & Liquidation update.

June 23, 2023: Migration & Liquidation update.

June 17, 2023: Receiver's report.

May 31, 2023: Migration & Liquidation update.

May 05, 2023: Migration & Liquidation update.

April 20, 2023: Liquidation update- Action required.

March 31, 2023: Migration & Liquidation update.

March 8, 2023: Migration & Liquidation update.

January 27, 2023: Correspondent bank update.

December 16, 2022: Comprehensive FAQ is published.

December 05, 2022: Migration & liquidation update.

November 01, 2022: Mutual funds & outgoing wire requests update.

October 21, 2022: Update on Opt-out deadline - Extended.

October 14, 2022: Customer Update & Townhall.

October 8, 2022: Update on opt-out deadline for EPB clients who do not wish to migrate their account to Qenta Inc.

September 30, 2022: Update on bank liquidation, pending transactions, and migration of assets to Qenta Inc.

September 28, 2022: Update on pending transactions for clients opting out of Qenta Inc. migration.

September 16, 2022: Update on pending transactions for clients opting out of Qenta Inc. migration.

September 8, 2022: Qenta has emailed a welcome letter to all EPB clients. You can read a copy of it here.

September 2, 2022: Update on pending transactions, brokerage, and account migration.

August 29, 2022: Euro Pacific Bank liquidation has commenced. Please read our formal instructions here as it is time-sensitive.