Electronic funds transfer

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) is the electronic exchange, transfer of money from one account to another, either within a single financial institution or across multiple institutions, through computer-based systems.

The term covers a number of different concepts:

• Wire transfer via an international banking network
• Cardholder-initiated transactions, using a payment card such as a credit or debit card
• Direct deposit payment initiated by the payer
• Direct debit payments, sometimes called electronic checks, for which a business debits the consumer's bank accounts for payment for goods or services
• Electronic bill payment in online banking, which may be delivered by EFT or paper check
• Transactions involving stored value of electronic money, possibly in a private currency
• Electronic Benefit Transfer

See also

• E-commerce payment system
• Electronic money
• Bitcoin
• Electronic funds transfer at point of sale (EFTPOS)
• Interbank network
• Payment system
• Real Time Gross Settlement
• Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT)