SWIFT / BIC code validator

How it works

How to read a BIC

The BIC (or SWIFT code) identifies a bank in international transfers. It has 8 or 11 characters: 4 letters for the bank (CAIX is CaixaBank), 2 for the country (ES), 2 letters or digits for the location (BB) and, optionally, 3 for the branch. Without a branch, or with XXX, it means the head office, so CAIXESBB and CAIXESBBXXX are the same code.

The validator checks the shape and that the country is a current ISO 3166 code (plus Kosovo, XK, which SWIFT uses). When the location has a 0 as its second character, it warns that this is a test BIC, which cannot be used for real payments.

What it does not do

It does not have the SWIFT directory, so it cannot tell which bank a code belongs to or whether it is registered: only whether its format is right. For a SEPA transfer inside the euro area the IBAN is usually enough; the BIC is still asked for in international payments outside it.

Related tools

• IBAN validatorValidate an IBAN from any country, break down a Spanish account (bank, branch and check digits), turn a CCC into an IBAN and generate test IBANs.
• Test credit card numbersGenerate Visa, Mastercard and American Express numbers that pass Luhn for test environments, and validate any card number: brand and check digit.
• CIF validatorValidate the CIF of a Spanish company, see its entity type and the right check character, and generate fictitious CIF numbers for testing.