What Is a SWIFT Code? Full Form, Meaning, Format and How to Find It

A SWIFT code is an 8 or 11-character code that identifies a bank in an international payment. The SWIFT code full form is Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, and the code is also called a BIC (Bank Identifier Code).

The simplest SWIFT code meaning is an international postal code for banks. Your account number says which account the money goes to; the SWIFT code tells a bank in another country which bank holds that account. Follow one payment and the idea becomes clear: a client in New York pays your HDFC account in Mumbai, their bank looks up HDFCINBB, sends the payment instruction to HDFC Bank over the SWIFT network, and HDFC uses your account number to credit you.

• Full form: Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication
• Also called: BIC, SWIFT/BIC, SWIFT number or SWIFT address
• Length: 8 or 11 letters and numbers
• Identifies: the bank, or one branch, never your account
• Used for: international transfers into and out of India
• Not used for: NEFT, RTGS or IMPS, which use the IFSC code

If you are a freelancer, exporter or NRI, this is the code a foreign payer asks for, and getting it right is what decides whether the money reaches your bank on the first attempt.

SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It is a member-owned cooperative, founded in Brussels in 1973 and now based in La Hulpe, Belgium, that runs the secure messaging network banks use to send payment instructions across borders.

Two things about SWIFT surprise most people. First, it does not hold or move money; it carries the instruction, and the banks settle the funds between their own accounts. Second, the code is no longer only for banks: since the 2014 revision of ISO 9362, companies and other financial firms can hold one, which is why the official name changed from Bank Identifier Code to Business Identifier Code. The same standard is also why every code in the world, from a Mumbai bank to a Frankfurt one, follows the identical 8 or 11-character pattern explained in the next section.

For anyone receiving money from abroad, the practical point is that a correct SWIFT code is what gets the instruction to the right bank at all; a wrong or missing one is the most common reason an inward payment is delayed or sent back.

A SWIFT code has four parts: a 4-letter bank code, a 2-letter country code, a 2-character location code and an optional 3-character branch code.

Here is each SWIFT code example decoded part by part:

An 8-character code points to the bank's main office, and that is what most Indian banks use to receive international payments. An 11-character code adds a branch; XXX at the end simply means the head office, so HDFCINBB and HDFCINBBXXX send money to the same place. For most Indian banks the location code is BB, which stands for Mumbai, but treat it as a location code rather than a rule. One quick check catches fakes: if the 8th character is '1', the code is not connected to SWIFT directly, and if it is '0', it is a test code.

What is a SWIFT address?

A SWIFT address is just another name for a SWIFT code. When a bank form, invoice template or remittance request asks for your bank's 'SWIFT address', 'SWIFT number' or 'SWIFT ID', it wants the same 8 or 11-character code, not a street address. Some older forms ask for the bank's postal address separately; fill that with your branch address and put the code in the SWIFT field.

Usually yes. Most Indian banks receive international payments on one 8-character head-office code that is the same for every branch, unlike the IFSC, which changes from branch to branch.

There are two exceptions worth knowing. Some banks, especially public sector banks, route inward remittances through a designated forex branch that has its own 11-character code, and they ask customers to quote that code instead of the head-office one. And many small cooperative and regional banks have no SWIFT code of their own; they receive foreign payments through a larger bank, called a correspondent, whose code you then give the payer along with your account details. For example, a customer of a public sector bank in a smaller city may be told to quote the bank's forex centre code in Mumbai, not the head-office code printed on the bank's website, because that centre handles all foreign receipts for the region.

Before you share a code, do this:

• Ask your branch which code it wants for inward remittances.
• If the payer's form needs 11 characters, add XXX to the 8-character code.
• If your bank has no code, ask for the correspondent bank's name, code and your account reference.

Five minutes with your branch saves days of a payment sitting unmatched in a suspense account.

These are the head-office SWIFT codes of twelve major Indian banks. Each bank name links to its page on our free SWIFT code finder, which also lists branch codes.

• State Bank of India: SBININBB
• HDFC Bank: HDFCINBB
• ICICI Bank: ICICINBB
• Axis Bank: AXISINBB
• Kotak Mahindra Bank: KKBKINBB
• Punjab National Bank: PUNBINBB
• Bank of Baroda: BARBINBB
• Canara Bank: CNRBINBB
• Central Bank of India: CBININBB
• Indian Overseas Bank: IOBAINBB
• Union Bank of India: UBININBB
• Indian Bank: IDIBINBB

Notice that every code follows the same pattern: four letters for the bank, IN for India and BB for the location. That is why the head-office code is easy to recognise, and also why it is easy to type wrongly; ICICINBB has one fewer letter than many people expect.

Use these codes for reference, not as a final answer. Public sector banks in particular often ask customers to quote a forex-centre or branch code for inward payments, and a bank can change its routing. Before you send the code to a client, confirm it with your branch or on the bank's own international banking page, then use the finder to double-check the spelling.

You can find your bank's SWIFT code on a SWIFT code finder, your bank's website or app, or your statement, and check it by reading the letters back against your bank's name and country.

Here is how to find SWIFT code details for your bank, quickest first:

1. Search your bank on the free SWIFT code lookup tool.
2. Open your bank's 'international banking', 'NRI' or 'receive money from abroad' page.
3. Look at the account details section of your statement or passbook.
4. Ask your branch which code to use for inward remittance, 8 or 11 characters.

To check a code, take HDFCINBB as an example. The first four letters, HDFC, should match your bank; the next two, IN, should be India; and any branch suffix should be one your bank has confirmed. If a payer reads you a code that starts with letters belonging to another bank, or a country other than IN, stop before they send. A payment sent to the wrong bank code is either rejected or returned days later, usually minus fees.

Many banking apps also show the code under account details or 'receive money from abroad'. Bookmark the confirmed code in your invoice template so you only check it once.

It usually is not on an Indian cheque at all. Indian cheques carry the IFSC and the MICR code, which are domestic codes, so look for the SWIFT code on your bank's website, app or statement instead.

On a typical Indian cheque leaf, the IFSC is printed near the top, close to the branch name and address, and the MICR code sits in the magnetic band along the bottom, alongside the cheque number. Both identify your branch for payments inside India: the IFSC for NEFT, RTGS and IMPS, and the MICR for clearing paper cheques. Neither works for a payment from abroad.

People who search for the SWIFT code on cheque leaves are usually in this situation: a foreign client or an employer abroad has asked for 'your bank details', and the only document at hand is a cheque book. Sending the IFSC instead of the SWIFT code is one of the most common reasons an international payment fails. To understand the code you can see on your cheque, read our guide on what is IFSC code; for the code a foreign payer needs, use your bank's international page or the finder.

A useful habit: keep a one-line 'international payment details' note with your account name, number, SWIFT code and IFSC, so you never reach for the cheque book.

No. A SWIFT code identifies a bank for international payments, an IFSC identifies an Indian bank branch for domestic payments, and an IBAN identifies an individual account, mainly in Europe and the Middle East.

The difference between SWIFT code and IFSC code comes down to direction: SWIFT brings money in from abroad, IFSC moves it inside India. Here is how the three meet in real life. A German client's payment form asks for IBAN and BIC. You do not have an IBAN, because India does not use them, so you enter your account number where the bank tells you to, your bank's SWIFT code as the BIC, and add the IFSC if there is a field for it. A UK client might also ask for a sort code; leave that blank, since sort codes are UK-only.

For deeper comparisons, see SWIFT code vs IFSC code and SWIFT vs IBAN.

A SWIFT transfer sends a payment message from the sender's bank to yours, sometimes through intermediary banks, while the money itself moves between the banks' accounts behind that message.

1. Your payer gives their bank your name, account number, bank name and SWIFT code.
2. Their bank sends a payment message over SWIFT, stamped with a unique tracking reference.
3. If the two banks have no direct relationship, one or more correspondent banks pass it along.
4. Your bank receives the funds, converts them to rupees and credits your account.

Two changes in the last year matter. Since November 2025, cross-border payments on SWIFT use the ISO 20022 standard instead of the old MT103 message, which carries richer, structured data such as separate address fields; you may still hear 'MT103' or 'SWIFT copy' used for proof of payment. And every payment carries a UETR, a 36-character reference that lets banks track it end to end through SWIFT gpi, so when a payment is late, asking the sender for the UETR is the fastest way to find it. Each extra correspondent bank in the chain adds time and, often, a fee, which is why the same transfer can take one day with one client and four with another.

For the full routing, see how SWIFT payment works.

A SWIFT transfer usually takes 1 to 5 working days, often the same day with SWIFT gpi, and what it costs you depends on who pays the fees, which the sender chooses.

Take a $2,000 invoice paid with SHA. The client's bank charges the client its own fee; then an intermediary bank deducts, say, $20 on the way, and your bank may charge an inward fee, so $1,980 or less arrives before conversion. With OUR, the client covers those charges and you receive the full $2,000. On top of fees, the exchange rate your bank applies changes how many rupees you actually get, which often costs more than the fees themselves. Timing also depends on cut-off times, time zones and holidays in both countries: a payment sent on a Friday afternoon in New York may not reach an Indian account until Tuesday.

If you invoice clients abroad regularly, add 'please select OUR for charges' to your payment instructions, and compare the rupees credited with the mid-market rate on the day. More detail in our guide to SWIFT charges.

A wrong SWIFT code usually means the payment is delayed or returned, and any fees deducted on the way may not come back.

What happens depends on how it is wrong. If the code does not exist, the sender's bank rejects it before sending, which is the best case. If it is a valid code for a different bank, that bank cannot match your account, holds the money and eventually returns it, usually after several days and minus charges. If it is the right bank but a branch code your bank does not use for inward payments, the money often still arrives, but it can sit in a suspense account until your bank traces it.

Most wrong-code problems come from a handful of habits:

• giving the IFSC instead of the SWIFT code
• sharing a branch code your bank does not use for inward payments
• a beneficiary name that does not match the account
• leaving out the purpose of payment, which your bank needs to classify the receipt

If you spot a mistake after the payer has sent the money, ask them for the UETR straight away and share it with your bank; tracing early is far quicker than waiting for a return.

Share your bank's SWIFT code, your account number, your name as it appears on the account and your bank's address, and add the IFSC if the payer's bank asks for it.

• Send the payer: account name, account number, bank name and address, SWIFT code and IFSC.
• Tell your bank the purpose: each receipt is tagged with an RBI purpose code, for example P0802 for software consultancy and implementation.
• Keep the proof: ask for the FIRC or eFIRA, which proves the money came from abroad, for your GST and tax records.
• Track it: if it is late, ask the payer for the UETR and give it to your bank.

For exporters there is a deadline as well: under RBI rules in force from 1 October 2026, export proceeds must arrive within 9 months of the invoice date for services, or 12 months if the invoice is in rupees. Service exporters also report their invoices to the bank each month on an Export Declaration Form. The inflow itself is a foreign inward remittance, and each one should be matched to an invoice in your books the day it lands.

Keep a single checklist with these details and send it with every first invoice to a new client.

Yes. Instead of a cross-border wire that may pass through intermediary banks, you can give clients local account details in their own currency, so they pay you by local transfer and you receive rupees in India.

A local transfer avoids the correspondent chain, so there are no intermediary deductions on the way, and the conversion is priced openly rather than hidden in a bank's rate. That matters most for freelancers and small exporters, where a $20 deduction and a weak rate can take a noticeable share of each invoice.

With Xflow, you can receive payments in 25+ currencies, with local account details for major currencies. Pricing is linked directly to the live mid-market rate, with the fee shown upfront, so you can see what you will receive before you accept. Money settles to your Indian bank account the next business day, and you get an eFIRA within 24 hours for every international transaction, which is the document your CA needs for GST and tax records. Your clients keep paying the way they pay local suppliers, from their own bank, with no new app to learn.

Xflow holds final RBI authorisation as a cross-border payment aggregator, for both inward and outward payments (as of February 2026). See how receiving accounts work.