What is SWIFT Code?

SWIFT codes are a combination of various kinds of letters and are used to identify the branch codes of the banks. These codes are used as Bank Identifier Codes (BIC).

A SWIFT code is used to identify a particular branch of a bank. These codes play an important role in various bank transactions, especially when it comes to international transactions. A SWIFT code may also be used by various banks to transfer other messages.

A SWIFT code may be of eight to eleven digits and has the following components:

• - The first four characters are used as the bank codes. Only letters can be used.
• - The next two characters, only letters, are to describe or give the country code.
• - The next two characters can be a mix of both numbers and letters. These are used for location-based codes.
• - The last three characters of the code can be digits and letters, and are optional. These last three characters in a SWIFT code are used to give details about the branch code.

A good example of a SWIFT code would be the CommBank’s code- CTBAAU2S

It must be remembered that BICs and SWIFT Codes can be used interchangeably and are one and the same thing. A SWIFT code is usually used during international bank wire transfers. However, these codes may also make you pay a higher rate, depending on the ongoing rates at the time of the transaction. At present, there are more than forty thousand live SWIFT codes.

Click here to find your SWIFT Codes