Your First Transfer – Simpler Than It Looks
A bank transfer is a way to send money from your account to someone else's account. In this guide, we'll walk you through, step by step, how to make a regular transfer in your bank's app – the kind where you enter the recipient's account number. This isn't difficult. You can go through it calmly, one step at a time – you can't break anything by tapping the wrong button, because the app always shows you a summary screen before the transfer is finally confirmed.
If you don't yet have a personal account you can send transfers from, take a look at our ranking of the best personal accounts and pick one that suits you.
Step by Step: How to Make a Transfer
- Open your bank's app on your phone – usually you just tap its icon (a small picture) on your phone's home screen.
- Log in to the app – enter your app PIN code, or use your fingerprint or face recognition if you have that turned on.
- On the app's main screen, look for a button called "Transfer" or "New transfer" – it often looks like an arrow or a money-symbol icon.
- Tap that button to open the new transfer form.
- Choose the option to add a new recipient, if this is the first time you're sending money to this account number.
- Enter the recipient's account number – a long string of letters and numbers (this is called an IBAN). You can copy it from a message you received, or type it in by hand, digit by digit.
- Check the account number again – compare it calmly, digit by digit, with the one you have written down.
- Enter the recipient's name or company name – the person or organization you're sending the money to.
- Enter the transfer amount – how much money you want to send.
- Enter the transfer title (sometimes called a reference or description) – a short note for the recipient, like "September rent" or "loan repayment".
- Check the summary screen – the app will show you all the transfer details in one place: account number, amount, and title.
- If everything looks correct, tap "Confirm" or "Send".
- Confirm the transfer – enter the one-time SMS code sent to your phone, or use your fingerprint or face recognition (this step is called authorization – it proves the transfer really is being made by you).
- Wait a moment until the screen shows a message like "Transfer completed".
- Check your transaction history (usually under a tab called "History" or "Activity") to confirm the transfer really went through.
What to Do If Something Goes Wrong
Realized you entered the wrong account number after already sending the transfer? Don't panic. Call your bank's helpline as soon as possible – the number is on the back of your payment card, or on the bank's website. Sometimes the bank can still stop the transfer if you report it quickly.
Transfer didn't go through, or you saw an error message? Check whether your phone has an internet connection. Try again in a few minutes. If the error keeps happening, contact your bank through the app's chat, or call the helpline.
Not enough money in your account? The app will tell you with a message like "insufficient funds". The transfer simply won't go through – that's fine, just try again once there's money in the account.
Forgot your authorization code? The app usually has an option like "Forgot code" or "Lock access" – use it, or call your bank so they can help you regain access.
Watch out for scams. A real bank employee will never ask you to read out an SMS code over the phone. If someone calls claiming to be from your bank and asks for the code you just received by text message, that's a scam. Hang up. If you're unsure, call the number on the back of your own card and ask whether the bank really tried to reach you.