SWIFT / BIC Code Checker (Bank Code for IBAN Transfers)
Is this SWIFT code well formed, which country is it, and which institution has it?
Try:
The check runs in your browser. “Look up” sends only the code to GLEIF’s public API.
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- Country
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- Branch part
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- 8 characters
—- 11 characters
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GLEIF: the institution behind the code
LEI data: GLEIF (CC0). BICs linked to an LEI: SWIFT © and database rights. All rights reserved. This Mapping Table has been developed by SWIFT. Any use of the Mapping Table, in whole or in part, is subject to the BIC/LEI Mapping Table License Agreement as published with the Mapping Table available on GLEIF’s website. The Mapping Table is updated monthly. For the latest BIC information and updates, always refer to www.swift.com/bic.
Results
| Line | Code | Result | Country | Branch |
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About the SWIFT / BIC Code Checker (Bank Code for IBAN Transfers)
A BIC (Business Identifier Code, defined by ISO 9362 and often called a SWIFT code) is the code banks use to route international payments. Type or paste one and the checker tells you at once whether it is well formed — 8 or 11 letters and digits, with a real country code in characters 5 and 6 — and splits it into its parts: the 8-character code of the institution, its country and the optional 3-character branch or unit. It also spots codes that are something else, such as an IBAN, an Indian IFSC or a UK sort code.
A well-formed code is not necessarily an assigned one: only SWIFT, the registration authority, keeps the official directory. To see who holds a code, press Look up in GLEIF: the page asks GLEIF’s free public API for the legal entity identifier (LEI) records linked to that BIC and shows the institution’s legal name, LEI and country. You can also check a whole list of codes at once and download the results.
How to use it
- Type or paste a BIC, such as
DEUTDEFFordeut de ff 500— spaces, dots and hyphens are ignored. - Read the result: valid format or the exact problem, the country, and what the branch part means.
- Press Look up in GLEIF to see the institution behind the code (this sends the code to api.gleif.org).
- To check many codes, choose A list of codes, paste one per line and download the results as CSV.
Examples
Valid format · country DE (Germany) · no branch part · GLEIF: DEUTSCHE BANK AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, LEI 7LTWFZYICNSX8D621K86
Valid format · country US (United States) · XXX = the 8-character code written out to 11 · GLEIF: JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association
Valid format · country BE (Belgium) · branch part XYZ — the branch example of ISO TC 68
Invalid: characters 5 and 6 (“QQ”) are not an ISO 3166-1 country code
Invalid as a BIC: it looks like an Indian IFSC — use the IFSC code finder
Common uses
- Checking the SWIFT code on an invoice or payment form before an international transfer.
- Cleaning a supplier list: finding malformed codes and duplicates before a payment run.
- Finding which institution and country a BIC belongs to, with its LEI for onboarding or reporting.
How a BIC is built
According to ISO’s technical committee for financial services (TC 68), the BIC is an 8-character alphanumeric code that identifies a business party in a country; characters 5 and 6 give the country under ISO 3166-1. An optional 3-character alphanumeric element identifies an organisational unit, division or branch of that party in the same country. ISO’s own examples: ABCDBE22 for a Belgian organisation and ABCDBE22XYZ for one of its branches. SWIFT is the registration authority that assigns codes. See ISO TC 68: What is BIC?
The checker accepts 8 or 11 characters, letters A–Z and digits 0–9 in every position except 5–6, which must be the two letters of an ISO 3166-1 country code. Banks in Kosovo use XK (GLEIF’s records list codes such as RBKOXKPRXXX), so it is accepted too.
Is a well-formed code a real one?
Not necessarily. The format check catches typing mistakes, but only SWIFT’s directory says whether a code has been assigned and to whom. ISO TC 68 points to SWIFT’s BIC search at iso9362.org; your bank can also confirm a code before you send money.
The GLEIF lookup
GLEIF (the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation) publishes, with SWIFT, a relationship file that matches BICs to legal entity identifiers, updated monthly, and its public API can find LEI records by BIC. The checker asks it for the 11-character form of your code (an 8-character code with XXX added, as GLEIF stores it) and shows the legal name, LEI, city and country of the legal address, and the entity’s status.
No record does not mean the code is wrong: only BICs of legal entities and foreign branches are matched to LEIs. Codes of bank branches, departments, trading desks, test systems and SWIFT network addresses are not (GLEIF and SWIFT: BIC-to-LEI mapping factsheet, on the page of the BIC-to-LEI relationship files). For an 11-character branch code without a record, the checker also tries the institution’s 8-character code. GLEIF provides LEI data free of charge under CC0 (terms of use); the BIC-to-LEI file itself is developed by SWIFT and published by GLEIF under its own licence. MySmartCoPilot is not affiliated with SWIFT or GLEIF.
BIC, IBAN and local bank codes
A BIC identifies the bank; an IBAN identifies the account and starts with a country code and two check digits. Many countries also have their own codes for domestic payments, such as the UK sort code or India’s IFSC. The checker tells you when what you typed looks like one of these instead.
Limitations
- The format check cannot tell whether a code is assigned; only SWIFT’s directory can.
- The GLEIF lookup needs a connection, finds only BICs that are matched to an LEI, and GLEIF limits its API to 60 requests a minute.
- GLEIF’s data comes from GLEIF and the organisations it accredits; check anything important with your bank.
Privacy
The format check runs in your browser and works offline. Only if you press “Look up in GLEIF” is the code sent to GLEIF’s public API (api.gleif.org), straight from your browser — not through MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
Is a SWIFT code the same as a BIC?
Yes. The standard calls it the Business Identifier Code (ISO 9362); it is often called a SWIFT code or SWIFT-BIC because SWIFT is the registration authority and uses it to address messages on its network.
Should I use the 8- or the 11-character code?
Use the code your bank or the payee gives you. An 8-character BIC identifies the institution; 11 characters add a branch or unit. GLEIF’s records write an 8-character code with XXX added, which is why the lookup does too.
Why does the GLEIF lookup find nothing for my code?
Only BICs of legal entities and foreign branches are matched to LEIs, so branch, department and test codes have no record, and new codes appear only after a monthly update. The code may still be valid: check it in SWIFT’s BIC search or with your bank.
Is the code I type sent anywhere?
The format check happens in your browser. Only when you press “Look up in GLEIF” is the code sent, from your browser, to api.gleif.org. Nothing is sent to MySmartCoPilot.