A BIC (Bank Identifier Code) is an international standard for Business Identifier Codes, a unique identifier for business institutions, approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) . BIC is also known as SWIFT-BIC, SWIFT ID, or SWIFT code, after the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), which is designated by ISO as the BIC registration authority. BIC was originally defined as Bank Identifier Code and is most often assigned to financial organizations; when it is assigned to non-financial organizations, the code may also be known as Business Entity Identifier (BEI) .

A BIC code is an 8 to 11-character code that is used to identify a specific bank when you make an international transaction. It is almost like a postcode for your bank, ensuring that your money goes to the right place. The BIC is used for addressing messages, routing business transactions, and identifying business parties. BIC codes are used to ensure that your payment goes to the right bank and branch when you transfer money between banks, to a bank account across international lines, or for SEPA payments.

The BIC is an 8-character code, defined as ‘business party identifier’, consisting of the business party prefix (4 alphanumeric), the country code as defined in ISO 3166-1 (2 alphabetic), and the business party suffix (2 alphanumeric) . The branch identifier is a 3-character optional element that can be added to the BIC.

You can usually find your BIC number on your bank statements, but if you don’t have any to hand, you could also log into your online banking account or just call into your local branch. If you’re making an international payment and need to find the BIC number of the recipient, you can simply use a BIC/SWIFT finder.