Thats always a good idea.
Did you try adding your bank under institution keyword??
If you have an account under a major bank it may be worth your while to call because citibank has over 200 entries.
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_9362
ISO 9362 (also known as BIC code or SWIFT code) is a standard format of Bank Identifier Codes approved by the International Organization for Standardization. It is the unique identification code of a particular Bank.
It can be found on the Account Statements. It is necessary for sending money across foreign countries.
These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly international transfers.
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.
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.
There are over 7,500 "live" codes (for partners actively connected to the BIC network) and an estimated 10,000 additional BIC codes which can be used for manual transactions.
[edit] Examples
As an example, Deutsche Bank is an international bank; its head office is based in Frankfurt, Germany. Its SWIFT code for its primary office is DEUTDEFF:
* DEUT identifies Deutsche Bank
* DE is the country code for Germany
* FF is the code for Frankfurt
Using an extended code of 11 digits (if the receiving bank has assigned branches or processing areas individual extended codes) allows the payment to be directed to a specific office. For example, DEUTDEFF500 would direct the payment to an office of Deutsche Bank in Bad Homburg.
actually its not just European
US, Latin American etc banks also have swift codes
example
http://www.wachovia.com/corp_inst/page/0,,14_982_4696_1025,00.html
Swift is a global consortium (the mother@$#@#$ were known to freely hand over a bunch of information of bank transfers that they were not suposed to )
btw nimue, simply use google, punch in "bank name" + swift code and see what shows up
US, Latin American etc banks also have swift codes
example
http://www.wachovia.com/corp_inst/page/0,,14_982_4696_1025,00.html
Swift is a global consortium (the mother@$#@#$ were known to freely hand over a bunch of information of bank transfers that they were not suposed to )
btw nimue, simply use google, punch in "bank name" + swift code and see what shows up
Makes sense, however my European bank calls the swift well.....the swift
They now also require IBAN (international bank account number) and sometimes BIC (branch identifier)
In the US the banks can and do have
a) SWIFT codes PLUS
b)ABA code and or routing number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routing_number
They now also require IBAN (international bank account number) and sometimes BIC (branch identifier)
In the US the banks can and do have
a) SWIFT codes PLUS
b)ABA code and or routing number
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Routing_number
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