>when the client's way of sending an international wire transfer is through some 3rd party service that's capable of holding the payment in limbo indefinitely (

>when the client's way of sending an international wire transfer is through some 3rd party service that's capable of holding the payment in limbo indefinitely (and they do) In that case your client is essentially messing with you. Also, irriversible payments without a chargeback mechanism may be a feature to you and many, however more people see it as a bug.