What is a Bank Swift Code?

Banks provide a number of security measures for customers. Money is transferred from one bank to another with armed guards and specific account numbers are assigned to individual accounts. Online banking, debit card and credit card transactions require even stricter security measures. A bank swift code or ISO number is a fairly new security measure that banks have adopted.

Purpose of the Code

A bank SWIFT code number is also known as an ISO 9362. This number is a business identifier code adopted by the International Organization for Standardization. The code is unique for each financial or non-financial institutions. The code provides safe transfers of money between banks, especially international money wires. The codes are also used to send messages between banks. The code may be listed on an account statement.

Code Letter Representations 

Each bank SWIFT code consists of eight to 11 characters. The first four letters determine the institution or bank. The fifth and sixth letters identify the country. Letters seven and eight represent the location. If the second character of the location code is a “0,” the code is a test. A “1” for the second character of the location code identifies a passive participant; however, a “2” means the recipient pays for the message. The last three letters represent the branch code or primary office. 

2009 Swift Code Update

In 2009, the SWIFT code began including non-financial institutions. Previously, the number was called a BIC code, as an acronym for Bank Identifier Code. The network now consists of over 7,500 partners.

Example of a Swift Code

An international bank headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany participates in the SWIFT code. The name of the bank is Deutsche Bank and its code is DEUTDEFF for its primary office. DEUT represents the Deutsche Bank, DE identified the country and FF is the code for Frankfurt.