What are SWIFT Codes and Where to Find Them?

1. What are SWIFT Codes and Where to Find Them? SWIFT Code is a standard format belonging to the Business Identifier Codes and approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is also known as ISO 9362, SWIFT-BIC, BIC code, SWIFT ID or SWIFT code. It is a unique identification code used by the financial and non-financial institutions. Note that if it is assigned to a non-financial institution, it will be known as Business Entity Identifier or BEI. These codes are mainly used during transferring money between banks, especially for international wire transfers and exchange of other messages between banks. The codes are sometimes found on account statements too. The SWIFT code is 8 or 11 characters that are formed as following: The first 4 letters represents the Institution Code or bank code. The next 2 letter forms ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code The nest 2 letters or digits indicates location code Note: if the second character is "0", then it is typically a test BIC as opposed to a BIC used on the live network. if the second character is "1", then it denotes a passive participant in the SWIFT network if the second character is "2", then it typically indicates a reverse billing BIC, where the recipient pays for the message as opposed to the more usual mode whereby the sender pays for the message. The last 3 letters or digits represent branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office)The next time you come across an 8-digit code understand that it refers to the primary office. If you are in search of SWIFT Codes for banks and financial institutions around the world, you may find all of them here at Bankswiftcode.org. Click on the country name provided to get list of all institutions in that country.