What is "fedwire"

Formally known as the Federal Reserve Wire Network, Fedwire is a real-time gross settlement funds transfer system operated by the United States Federal Reserve Banks that enables financial institutions to electronically transfer funds between its more than 9,289 participants (as of March 19, 2009).

In conjunction with Clearing House Interbank Payments System (CHIPS), operated by The Clearing House Payments Company, a private company, Fedwire is the primary U.S. network for large-value or time-critical domestic and international payments, and it is designed to be highly resilient. Note that in 2012 CHIPS was designated a systemically important financial market utility (SIFMU) under Title VIII of the Dodd–Frank Act, which means it is subject to heightened regulatory scrutiny by the Federal Reserve Board.

The average daily value of transfers over the Fedwire Funds Service in 2007 was approximately $2.7 trillion, and the daily average number of payments was about 537,000. In 2009 Fedwire originated $631 trillion in transfers. In comparison, in 2007, FedACH, the Fed's Automated Clearing House service, processed about 37 million transactions per day with an average aggregate value of about $58 billion.