Bank Identifier Code (BIC)

Bank Identifier Code (BIC) is an international standard for identifying banks globally. Also known as the SWIFT code, it ensures accurate identification of banks in international wire transfers.

BIC consists of 8 or 11 characters. The first 4 characters represent the bank code. The next 2 characters denote the country code. The following 2 characters indicate the location code. The last 3 characters, if present, specify the branch code.

Examples of BICs include:

• DEUTDEFF for Deutsche Bank in Germany
• BOFAUS3N for Bank of America in the United States
• HSBCGB2L for HSBC in the United Kingdom