BIC / SWIFT

BIC / SWIFT Code Search

Validate BIC/SWIFT codes and search banks by name or sort code.

Validate BIC

Check a BIC/SWIFT code for validity and get details about the bank.

Examples:

Search Bank

Search by bank name, sort code or BIC.

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What is a BIC?

The Bank Identifier Code (BIC), also known as SWIFT code, is an international standard for the unique identification of financial institutions. It is required for international transfers.

BIC Structure

A BIC/SWIFT code consists of 8 or 11 characters: the bank code (4 letters, e.g. COBA), the country code (2 letters, e.g. DE), the location code (2 characters, e.g. FF), and an optional branch code (3 characters, e.g. XXX for the primary office).

COBABank code (4 chars)
DECountry code (2 chars)
FFLocation code (2 chars)
XXXBranch code (3 chars, optional)

When do I need the BIC?

For international transfers (SEPA and worldwide) the BIC together with the IBAN is mandatory. Within the SEPA zone the BIC has been optional since 2016.

How accurate is BIC/SWIFT validation?

The BIC/SWIFT check validates the code's structure against the ISO 9362 pattern (a 4-letter bank code, a 2-letter country code, a 2-character location code, and an optional 3-character branch code) and confirms the country code is real. This is format validation — it does not confirm the code is currently active or registered with SWIFT. For German banks, we additionally cross-check the code against our own sort-code (Bankleitzahl) reference data to attach a real, verified bank name and city whenever there's a match.

Which banks does the bank name search cover?

The bank name/sort-code search only covers German banks, using the official Bankleitzahl (sort code) reference data — search by bank name, an 8-digit sort code, or a BIC to find a matching German bank's name, BIC, and city. BIC/SWIFT codes from other countries still validate correctly for structure, but won't return a bank name or city, since only German bank data is stored.

Do I need to register to use the BIC search?

No — validating a BIC/SWIFT code or searching for a German bank by name or sort code is completely free and requires no registration or login, the same as the IBAN validator on the homepage.