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SWIFT / BIC

Banking

Standard identification codes for banks used for international wire transfers.

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a network that allows financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about financial transactions in a secure, standardized, and reliable environment.

BIC (Business Identifier Code):

The BIC (also known as a SWIFT code) is a standard format for Business Identifier Codes. It is the unique identification code of a particular bank.

Difference between IBAN and SWIFT:

  • IBAN identifies an individual account.
  • SWIFT/BIC identifies the bank itself.

When sending money abroad, you typically need both the recipient’s IBAN and the recipient bank’s SWIFT/BIC code.

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This definition of SWIFT / BIC is part of our comprehensive financial and accounting processing glossary. Understanding banking terms is crucial for accurate bookkeeping, auditing, and automated data entry workflows. If you regularly work with PDF bank statements or financial documents, consider using SmartBankStatement's professional converter to securely extract, validate, and reconcile your transaction data into Excel or CSV format effortlessly.