BIC (Business Identifier Code)
The BIC — also called a SWIFT code — is the ISO 9362 standard identifier for financial institutions: 8 or 11 characters encoding the institution, country, location, and optionally the branch, used to route international payments.
Structure
An 8-character BIC identifies an institution’s head office (e.g., GIBAATWW for Erste Group Bank Vienna); an 11-character BIC adds a branch code. The breakdown is: 4-letter institution code, 2-letter ISO 3166 country code, 2-character location code, and optional 3-character branch. A BIC ending in XXX means head office.
The same code doubles as the connected-party identifier on the SWIFT network — which is why BIC and SWIFT code are used interchangeably, though technically SWIFT runs the network and ISO 9362 defines the identifier.
When you still need it
Inside SEPA the BIC is optional — banks derive it from the IBAN. For international payments outside SEPA, correspondent banking, and trade finance, it remains essential routing information, and many payment files still carry it for validation.
Related Standards
- •ISO 9362 — Business Identifier Code
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