What Is a BIC Code? Format, Example and BIC vs SWIFT Code

A BIC is the 8- or 11-character code that identifies a bank in an international payment, and it is the same code as the SWIFT code. BIC stands for Business Identifier Code. The BIC code tells the sending bank which bank should receive the money, while your account number tells that bank whose account to credit.

Payment forms abroad often label this field "BIC", whereas Indian bank paperwork usually says "SWIFT code". That small naming gap makes many exporters, IT services firms and freelancers stop and check before they reply to a client in London, Dubai, Toronto or Singapore.

You only need a few facts to get it right: how the code is built, which length to give, how it differs from IBAN and IFSC, and what else your payer needs, so the payment reaches your account the first time.

The BIC code meaning is in the name: BIC means Business Identifier Code. It started life as the Bank Identifier Code, and many banks and payment forms still use that older bank identifier code name, because the standard first covered only banks. A later revision of ISO 9362, the international standard behind the code, opened it to companies outside banking, so "business" replaced "bank".

SWIFT, the global messaging network banks use to send payment instructions, is the registration authority that issues every BIC. Whichever name a form uses, it wants the same 8- or 11-character code, and your bank already has one.

Yes, a BIC and a SWIFT code are the same 8- or 11-character code, so you never convert one into the other. BIC is the formal name from ISO 9362, while the everyday name comes from SWIFT, the network that issues the codes.

That is why your Indian bank can print one name while your client's form asks for the other. For a deeper look at the network itself, our swift code explainer covers how it works.

Each international transfer travels as a payment message between banks, and your bank's BIC is one of the details it carries. For a single customer payment, you will often hear that message called a SWIFT MT103.

Every BIC follows the same four-part pattern, read from left to right. The first eight characters are always present and the last three are optional, which is why you will see both lengths. Taking one State Bank of India branch in Mumbai (SBININBB101) as the sample, here is what each part tells your payer's bank.

An 8-character code points to the bank's primary office, exactly as if XXX were added at the end, so SBININBB and SBININBBXXX lead to the same place, while SBININBB101 points to one branch. If your bank gives you an 11-character code ending in a real branch code, give your client that full version and do not shorten it.

The last character of the 8-character part is the second character of the location code. A 0 there usually marks a test BIC, not one for live payments. A 1 usually marks a passive participant, an institution that is not an active SWIFT member. Most live bank codes have neither.

In this example, compare two Indian banks in the same city: SBININBBXXX, the BIC code for SBI's head office, and HDFCINBBXXX (HDFC Bank) share IN for India and BB for Mumbai, and only the first four letters change. Your payer's bank has a BIC of its own too, built on the same pattern, with characters 5 and 6 changing to the payer's country.

Each of these is the 8-character code for the bank's primary office, and each follows the same bank, country and location order as SBININBB. The code that matters on your invoice is the one for your bank.

Your BIC is easy to find once you know where banks keep it, and you can check it in a few places:

• Your bank statement or net banking - many Indian banks show the BIC for your account on statements or in the inward payment section of net banking.
• Your bank's inward remittance page - banks such as SBI, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank publish their codes for inward payments, sometimes listed by branch or account type.
• A lookup tool - our BIC code finder lets you look up the SWIFT/BIC code for an Indian bank before you put it on an invoice.

Whichever route you use, confirm the code with your bank before you send it to a client, because one bank can run several codes for different branches and account types.

BIC, IBAN and IFSC answer different questions. A BIC names the bank, an IBAN names one account at a bank, and an IFSC names an Indian bank branch for transfers inside India. A payer abroad needs your BIC in every case, while the other two depend on where the money is going.

India does not use IBAN, so an Indian account is identified by its account number plus the bank's BIC, with IFSC used for transfers inside India.

Within SEPA (the Single Euro Payments Area), euro transfers have run on the IBAN alone since 1 February 2016. That rule stops at the edge of SEPA, so a payment from Germany or Italy to India still needs your bank's BIC alongside your account number.

An IFSC is a domestic code that routes NEFT, RTGS and IMPS transfers between Indian banks, so the ifsc code on your cheque book is not what a foreign payer asks for first. Some Indian banks still request it on inward payments. Our SWIFT code vs IFSC code comparison shows which goes where.

A client may ask for your BIC or your BIC number, and both mean the same code. The code alone is not enough, though. Give your payer four things:

• Your bank's BIC - the 8- or 11-character code your bank, as an authorised dealer bank allowed to handle foreign exchange, gives you for inward payments to your type of account.
• Your account number - the full account number, exactly as it appears on your statement or bank records.
• The exact name on the account - the account holder name your bank holds, whether that is your company name or your own name.
• Your bank's name and address - the registered name of your bank and the branch or office address it gives for inward payments.

Before you send these, check your bank's inward remittance page for three things:

• IFSC or branch details - some Indian banks also ask for these on inward payments.
• The right BIC for your account - a bank can use a different BIC by account type or branch, so copy the one it gives you.
• Purpose of payment - some banks ask your payer to state it, so it helps to include it on your invoice.

Where your payer sits changes what their form expects:

• Eurozone payers (EUR) - they enter your BIC and account number, because a payment to India falls outside SEPA's IBAN-only rule.
• UK and UAE payers (GBP, AED) - their own accounts use IBANs, so a form may ask for one; give your account number with your BIC instead. A UK sort code only routes payments inside the UK, so it plays no part here. Our swift vs iban comparison shows how a SWIFT code and an IBAN work together.
• US, Canadian, Australian and Singapore payers (USD, CAD, AUD, SGD) - these countries do not use IBAN either, so a standard international wire form with your BIC and account number fits. A US routing number (ABA number) is for domestic US transfers, not for a wire to India.

A BIC and an account number work for any payer, but some clients would rather pay you the way they pay a local supplier. Xflow receiving accounts give payers local account details in USD, EUR, GBP and CAD. Payments in AUD, AED, SGD and other currencies still travel by SWIFT, so for those clients you share your BIC as usual.

A BIC code is the same 8- or 11-character code as a SWIFT code, and it tells a payer's bank which bank should receive the money. Pair it with your account number and the exact account name, because India has no IBAN. Check the code on your bank's inward remittance page before you put it on an invoice, and the payment should reach you the first time.