The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) (also known as ISO 9362, SWIFT-BIC, BIC code, SWIFT ID or SWIFT code) is a standard format of Business Identifier Codes approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is a unique identification code for both financial and non-financial institutions. (When assigned to a non-financial institution, a code may also be known as a Business Entity Identifier or BEI.) These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international wire transfers, and exchanging other messages between banks. The codes can sometimes be found on account statements. SWIFT and BIC codes are the same.

The SWIFT code is 8 or 11 characters,

Example: BBBBUS3MXXX

• BBBB 4 letters: Institution Code or bank code.
• US 2 letters: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
• 3M 2 letters or digits: location code
• If the second character is "0", it is typically a test BIC instead of a BIC used on the live network.
• If the second character is "1", it denotes a passive participant in the SWIFT network.
• Suppose the second character is "2". In that case, it typically indicates a reverse billing BIC, where the recipient pays for the message instead of the more usual mode whereby the sender pays for the message.
• XXX 3 letters or digits: branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office)

Where an 8-digit code is given, it may be assumed that it refers to the primary office.

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is also known as BIC (Business Identifier Codes) and as SWIFT-BIC, BIC code, SWIFT code, ISO 9362. These codes are used for international money transfer between banks.

SBIN IN BB 455 (Example)

• SBIN - Bank code (SBI)
• IN - Country Code
• BB - Location Code
• 455 - Branch Code (Mylapore, Chennai)