SWIFT and BIC codes are basically the same.
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) handles the registration of these codes. For this reason, Bank Identifier Codes (BICs) are often called SWIFT addresses or codes.
BIC code or SWIFT code (also known as ISO 9362) is a standard format of Bank Identifier Codes approved by the ISO (International Organization for Standardization). It is the unique identification code of a particular bank. It is necessary for sending money across countries.
The code is 8 or 11 characters, made up of:
· 4 characters - bank code
· 2 characters - ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
· 2 characters - location code
· 3 characters - branch code, optional ( 'XXX' for primary office)
Where an 8-digit code is given, you may assume that it refers to the primary office.
A Bank Code is a code assigned by a central bank, a Bank Supervisory Body or a Bankers Association in a country to all its licensed member banks. The rules vary to a great extent between the countries. Also the name of such a code varies. In some countries the bank codes can be viewed over the internet, but mostly in the local language.
Those countries which use International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN) have mostly integrated the bank code into the prefix of specifying IBAN account numbers.
