Understanding Wire Payments

Last updated: August 25, 2026

Wire payroll is a way to fund payroll using a bank wire transfer instead of the standard ACH Debit method. Wires settle faster, which helps ensure your team gets paid on time.

To fund payroll by wire, you manually transfer funds from your business bank account to a custodian account held with Warp. Once the funds arrive, Warp processes payments to your team.

Note: Most major banks don't charge fees for outgoing wire transfers.

When to Use Wire Payroll

Wire payments are a good option in these situations:

  1. Funding failures: If your ACH funding fails, you'll receive wire instructions in your dashboard. Following these instructions is the fastest way to resolve the issue and restore your account to Good Standing.

  2. Expediting payment: Use a wire to bypass the standard 3-day ACH processing window.

  3. Pending bank verification: If your bank account hasn't been verified by Warp yet but payroll needs to run, wire funding lets you proceed without waiting.

How Funding by Wire Works

You can wire your payroll funds by following these steps:

  1. Select Wire as your funding method.

  2. Select Payday.

  3. Review and Approve the payroll.

  4. After you click Approve, your wire instructions will appear.

  5. Follow these instructions to fund the payroll.

If you need to reference the instructions again later, you can find them under:
Payroll History > select the relevant payroll > Actions > View Wire Instructions.

Important: Never reuse wire details from a previous payroll. Always use the details shown for the specific payroll you're currently funding.

Wire Cutoff Times

The cutoff times for wire funding are as follows:

  • To ensure employees are paid by 8:30am ET on payday: Wired funds must be received by 5pm ET the day before payday.

  • To ensure employees are paid by 6pm ET on payday: Wired funds must be received by 4pm ET on payday.

Important: To reduce the risk of paying employees late, wires should be initiated 2-4 hours before these cutoff times.

Tips to Avoid Issues

  • Send from your business account. The wire must come from a bank account registered in your exact business name - a name mismatch will cause delays.

  • Use wire, not ACH. Sending an ACH payment instead of a wire won't resolve a funding issue in time and will add further delay.

  • Follow payroll-specific instructions. Each payroll has its own unique account number - always use the instructions displayed for that specific payroll, not a saved or reused set.