A SWIFT CODE is an international bank code that identifies particular banks worldwide. It’s also known as a Bank Identifier Code (BIC). This standard approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). BIC stands for Business Identifier Codes.

The codes are widely used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international wire transfers or telegraphic transfer. Other uses include to transmit messages between financial institutions and banks.

The Swift code can be either 8 or 11 characters long, and 8 digits code refers to the primary office. The code consists of 4 separate section, and the format arrange in the following manner;

AAAA BB CC XXX

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

There are 2 types of Swift Codes, namely Live & Passive Codes. The Live Codes are for institutions who are actively connected to the Swift Network while Passive Codes are used for manual transactions.

The registrations of Swift Codes are handled by Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (“SWIFT”) and their headquarters is located in La Hulpe, Belgium. SWIFT is the registered trademarks of S.W.I.F.T. SCRL with a registered address at Avenue Adèle 1, B-1310 La Hulpe, Belgium.

SWIFT is the registered trademarks of S.W.I.F.T. SCRL with a registered address at Avenue Adèle 1, B-1310 La Hulpe, Belgium.

Swift Code or BIC code are part of ISO 9362 standards. It is a standard format of Business Identifier Codes (“BIC”). BIC sometimes also refers to “Bank Identifier Code”.

Swift Code or BIC Code is a unique code to identify financial and non-financial institutions. These codes are mostly used when transferring money between banks, especially for international wire transfers or telegraphic transfer (“TT”). The codes are also used in exchanging messages between banks.

For individual users, SWIFT Code normally used to transmit money across the international border.