Do you know your BIC, IBAN and SWIFT bank codes? (2024)

BIC means Bank Identification Code or Bank Identifier Code. The code is used to identify a specific bank when conducting an international transfer or payment to ensure it’s sent to the correct place.

Further to this, BIC codes are managed by SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and can also be referred to as SWIFT, SWIFTBIC, SWIFT/BIC, BIC/SWIFT which can seem confusing, but they are the same thing.

All BIC and SWIFT codes consist of 8 to 11 characters long and follow the same format. There are a couple of things worth noting; 11 digit codes refer to specific branches of that company whereas 8 digit codes (or those ending in XXX) refer to the head office of the company.

BIC/SWIFT codes breakdown

• First 4 characters – bank code (only letters)
• Next 2 characters – ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (only letters)
• Next 2 characters – location code, the passive participant will have “1” in the second character (letters and digits)
• Last 3 characters – branch code, optional – ‘XXX’ for head office (letters and digits)

Here are some real-world examples:

Barclays

• SWIFT Code: BARCGB22XXX
• Bank / Institution: BARCLAYS BANK PLC
• Branch Name: (ALL U.K. OFFICES)
• Address: 1 CHURCHILL PLACE
• City: LONDON
• Postcode: E14 5HP

HSBC

• SWIFT Code: HBUKGB4106W
• Bank / Institution: HSBC UK BANK PLC
• Branch Name: (KINGS CROSS BRANCH)
• Address: 31 EUSTON ROAD KING CROSS
• City: LONDON
• Postcode: NW1 2ST

Goldman Sachs

• SWIFT Code: GOSGGB21
• Bank / Institution: GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP UK LIMITED
• Branch Name: N/A
• Address: 133 FLEET STREET PETERBOROUGH COURT
• City: LONDON
• Postcode: EC4A 2BB

An IBAN is an International Bank Account Number. The international system is used to identify and ensure that payments are made to the correct recipient account. The IBAN identifies; the country, bank, branch and account number.

An IBAN can contain up to 34 characters in both letters and digits. An IBAN is constructed as follows:

• A two-letter code representing the country
• Two numbers which are the check code/check number which controls if there are errors – this is unique per user.
• Up to 30 letters and numbers that identify the specific bank and bank account

Find out more information on IBAN codes.

For any account that doesn’t have an International Bank Account Number (IBAN), a clearing code (also known as a routing code) will be required.

If you have a SWIFT/BIC or IBAN code, then you won’t need a clearing code, as clearing codes are often used to make payments outside of the European Union (EU) to jurisdictions such as; Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States.

Not all banks and financial institutions are part of networks such as SWIFT or have the infrastructure in place, however, this doesn’t mean that they can’t facilitate cross-border payments.

Specialist providers such as Freemarket can help businesses offer international banking services to their customers without needing to have the infrastructure. Find out how we do this.