BIC (SWIFT)


A BIC (Bank Identifier Code) identifies the beneficiary's bank quickly and easily.
SWIFT owns and administers the BIC system. The BIC is the same as the bank's SWIFT address.

 

ISO 9362 (also known as SWIFT-BIC, BIC code, SWIFT ID or SWIFT code) is a standard format of Bank Identifier Codes approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is the unique identification code of a particular bank. These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international wire transfers, and also for the exchange of other messages between banks. The codes can sometimes be found on account statements.

 

SWIFT Standards, a division of The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), handles the registration of these codes. For this reason, Bank Identifier Codes (BICs) are often called SWIFT addresses or codes.

There are over 7,500 "live" codes (for partners actively connected to the BIC network) and an estimated 10,000 additional BIC codes which can be used for manual transactions.

 

The SWIFT code is 8 or 11 characters, made up of:
  • 4 characters - bank code (only letters)
  • 2 characters - ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (only letters)
  • 2 characters - location code (letters and digits) (if the second character is '1', then it denotes a passive participant in the SWIFT network)
  • 3 characters - branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office) (letters and digits)

Where an 8-digit code is given, it may be assumed that it refers to the primary office.

 

What is an International Payment?

International Wire Transfer

SWIFT MT 103 Basic Format for Wire Transfer

 

 

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