A Swift code is a set of 8 or 11 digits that represents a bank branch. You’ll need to use one when sending money internationally. Find your Swift code here.
Swift stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It's a global network for processing payments between countries. BIC stands for Bank Identifier Code, which refers to the set of digits you can use to send international payments.
In practice, many people use 'BIC' and 'Swift' interchangeably to describe the code for international payments. Find your BIC code here
Swift codes are not the same as IBANs, but they do a similar job.
IBANs identify individual bank accounts for domestic and international payments. They're mostly used in Europe, but other countries around the world are starting to adopt the same system.
Swift codes help to identify bank branches for international payments. They're used all over the world.
Swift codes are not the same as sort codes, but they do a similar job.
Sort codes help to identify bank branches for payments within a country, while Swift codes help to identify bank branches for international payments. Find your BIC code here
Swift codes are different to routing numbers, but they do a similar job.
Routing numbers help to identify banks by state in the US, making it easier to process domestic payments. Swift codes identify bank branches for international payments.
Swift codes identify bank branches for international payments. By doing this, they help banks to send your money to the right place.
It depends on the country you're sending money to. In the Eurozone, you'll always need an IBAN and a Swift/BIC code. Banks in the USA use Swift codes, but they don't use IBANs. It's the same in New Zealand too. More on IBAN numbers.
Swift codes are typically required for all international money transfers to Saint Helena. If you need to make an international money transfer, you will almost always need a Swift code. However, you don't need a Swift code to make a domestic transfer within Saint Helena.
