ISO 9362

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ISO 9362 (also known as BIC code or SWIFT code) is a standard format of Bank Identifier Codes approved by the International Organization for Standardization. It is the unique identification code of a particular Bank.

It can be found on the Account Statements. It is necessary for sending money across foreign countries. Can be found on currency. These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly international transfers.

The code is 8 or 11 characters, made up of:

4 characters - bank code
2 characters - ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
2 characters - location code
3 characters - branch code, optional ( 'XXX' for primary office)

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

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.

[edit] Examples

As an example, Deutsche Bank is an international bank; its head office is based in Frankfurt, Germany. Its SWIFT code for its primary office is DEUTDEFF:

DEUT identifies Deutsche Bank
DE is the country code for Germany
FF is the code for Frankfurt

Using an extended code of 11 digits (if the receiving bank has assigned branches or processing areas individual extended codes) allows the payment to be directed to a specific office. For example, DEUTDEFF500 would direct the payment to an office of Deutsche Bank in Bad Homburg.