View source for ISO 9362

{{Short description|SWIFT business identifier coding standard}}
'''ISO 9362''' is an [[international standard]] for '''Business Identifier Codes''' ('''BIC'''), a unique identifier for business institutions,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=swift.com |url=https://www.swift.com/node/100971 |format=PDF |title=SWIFT - SwiftRef Factsheet BICPlus, June 2017 |access-date=2017-11-21 |archive-date=2017-12-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201034937/https://www.swift.com/node/100971 |url-status=dead }}</ref> approved by the [[International Organization for Standardization]] (ISO).<ref name="ISO2014">{{cite web | title=ISO 9362:2014 | website=ISO | date=28 February 2020 | url=https://www.iso.org/cms/render/live/en/sites/isoorg/contents/data/standard/06/03/60390.html | access-date=2022-09-28}}</ref> BIC is also known as '''SWIFT-BIC''', '''SWIFT ID''', or '''SWIFT code''', after the [[Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication]] (SWIFT), which is designated by ISO as the BIC registration authority.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.swift.com/our-solutions|title=Solutions to meet any financial industry challenge|website=SWIFT - The global provider of secure financial messaging services}}</ref> BIC was defined originally as a '''Bank Identifier Code'''<ref name="ISO 1994">{{cite web | title=ISO 9362:1994 | website=ISO | url=https://www.iso.org/cms/render/live/en/sites/isoorg/contents/data/standard/02/27/22738.html | access-date=2022-09-28}}</ref> and is most often assigned to [[financial organization]]s; when it is assigned to a non-financial organization, the code may also be known as a '''Business Entity Identifier''' ('''BEI'''). These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international [[wire transfer]]s, and also for the exchange of other messages between banks. The codes can sometimes be found on [[account statement]]s.

The overlapping issue between ISO 9362 and [[ISO 13616]] is discussed in the article [[International Bank Account Number]] (also called IBAN). The SWIFT network does not require a specific format for the transaction so the identification of accounts and transaction types is left to agreements of the transaction partners. In the process of the [[Single Euro Payments Area]] the European central banks have agreed on a common format based on IBAN and BIC including an XML-based transmission format for standardized transactions. [[T2 (RTGS)]] is a joint gross clearing system in the European Union that does not require the SWIFT network for transmission (see [[EBICS]]). The TARGET directory lists all the BICs of the banks that are attached to the TARGET2-network being a subset of the SWIFT-directory of BICs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bundesbank.de/zahlungsverkehr/zahlungsverkehr_target_kreditinstitute.php |title=Deutsche Bundesbank - Unbarer Zahlungsverkehr |language=de |publisher=Bundesbank.de |date=2013-01-15 |access-date=2013-02-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120508023725/http://www.bundesbank.de/zahlungsverkehr/zahlungsverkehr_target_kreditinstitute.php |archive-date=2012-05-08 }}</ref>

== History ==
There are five versions.
* ISO 9362:1987, from year 1987, withdrawn<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 9362:1987 |url=https://www.iso.org/cms/render/live/en/sites/isoorg/contents/data/standard/01/70/17047.html |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=ISO |language=en}}</ref>
* ISO 9362:1994, from year 1994, withdrawn<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 9362:1994 |url=https://www.iso.org/cms/render/live/en/sites/isoorg/contents/data/standard/02/27/22738.html |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=ISO |language=en}}</ref>
* ISO 9362:2009, from year 2009, withdrawn<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 9362:2009 |url=https://www.iso.org/cms/render/live/en/sites/isoorg/contents/data/standard/05/20/52017.html |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=ISO |language=en}}</ref>
* ISO 9362:2014, from year 2014, withdrawn<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 9362:2014 |url=https://www.iso.org/cms/render/live/en/sites/isoorg/contents/data/standard/06/03/60390.html |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=ISO |date=28 February 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
* ISO 9362:2022, from year 2022, valid<ref>{{Cite web |title=ISO 9362:2022 |url=https://www.iso.org/cms/render/live/en/sites/isoorg/contents/data/standard/08/41/84108.html |access-date=2022-09-04 |website=ISO |language=en}}</ref>
ISO 9362 is based on the industry standard created by SWIFT around 1975.

== Structure ==
The SWIFT code is 8 or 11 characters, made up of:
* 4 letters: institution code or bank code.
* 2 letters: [[ISO 3166-1 alpha-2]] country code (exceptionally, SWIFT has assigned the code XK to [[Republic of Kosovo]], which does not have an ISO 3166-1 country code)
* 2 letters or digits: location code
** if the second character is "0", then it is typically a test BIC as opposed to a BIC used on the live network.
** if the second character is "1", then it denotes a passive participant in the SWIFT network
** if the second character is "2", then it typically indicates a reverse billing BIC, where the recipient pays for the message as opposed to the more usual mode whereby the sender pays for the message.
* 3 letters or digits: branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office)

Where an eight character code is given, it may be assumed that it refers to the primary office.

SWIFT Standards, a division of The [[Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication]] (SWIFT), handles the registration of these codes. Because SWIFT originally introduced what was later standardized as Business Identifier Codes (BICs), they are still often called SWIFT addresses or codes.

The 2009 update of ISO 9362 broadened the scope to include non-financial institutions; before then BIC was commonly understood to be an acronym for ''Bank Identifier Code''.

There are over 7,500 "live" codes (for partners actively connected to the SWIFT network) and an estimated 10,000 additional BIC codes which can be used for manual transactions.

==Examples==
[[Deutsche Bank]]  is an international bank, with its head office in [[Frankfurt]], [[Germany]]. The 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
Deutsche Bank uses an extended code of 11 characters and has assigned branches or processing areas individual extended codes. This 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.

[[Nedbank]] is a primarily [[South Africa]]n bank, with its head office in [[Johannesburg]]. The SWIFT code for its primary office is NEDSZAJJ:
* NEDS identifies Nedbank
* ZA is the country code for South Africa
* JJ is the code for Johannesburg
Nedbank has not implemented the extended code of 11 characters and all SWIFT transfers to its accounts are directed to the primary office for processing. Those transfer interfaces that require an 11 digit code would enter NEDSZAJJXXX.

[[Danske Bank]] is a primarily [[Denmark|Danish]] bank, with its head office in [[Copenhagen]]. The SWIFT code for its primary office is DABADKKK:
* DABA identifies Danske Bank
* DK is the country code for Denmark
* KK (for ''København'' in Danish) is the code for Copenhagen.

[[UniCredit Banca]] is a primarily [[Italy|Italian]] bank with its head office in [[Milan]].
The SWIFT code for its primary office is UNCRITMM:
* UNCR identifies Unicredit Banca
* IT is the country code for Italy
* MM is the code for Milan.

[[Dah Sing Bank]] is a bank based in Hong Kong that has five branches in mainland China (primary mainland China branch in Shenzhen).
The SWIFT code for the branch in Shanghai is DSBACNBXSHA.
* DSBA identifies Dah Sing Bank
* CN is the country code for China
* BXSHA is the code for Shanghai.
It uses the 11-digit extended code, and SHA identifies the Shanghai branch.

[[Banco de Oro|BDO Unibank]] is the biggest bank in the Philippines, with its head office in Makati. The SWIFT Code for BDO is BNORPHMM. All BDO branches have the same SWIFT Code.

*BNOR identifies BDO Unibank
*PH is the country code for the Philippines
*MM is the code for Metro Manila of which Makati is a part.

Note that one bank can seem to have more than one bank identifier in a given country for separation purposes. [[Bank of East Asia]] separates its representative branch in the US and its US-based operations for local customers into BEASUS33xxx (following the code used in its home country) and BEAKUS33xxx respectively. This differs from its local mainland China operations which are also BEASCNxxxxx following Hong Kong rather than having a separate identifier code.

* An example of this is [[Bank of America]] in the United States. For [[USD|US Dollar]] denominated wires, its SWIFT code is BOFAUS3N. The SWIFT code for wires sent in foreign currency (non-U.S. dollars) to Bank of America in the United States is BOFAUS6S.

In the past, [[Single Euro Payments Area|SEPA payments]] required both BIC and IBAN. Since 2016-02-01 only the IBAN is needed inside the SEPA (European Union and some more countries).

==Twelve-character SWIFTNet FIN address based on BIC==
To identify endpoints on its network, [[Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication|SWIFT]] also uses twelve-character codes that are derived from the BIC of the institution. Such a code consists of the 'BIC8', followed by a one-character code that identifies the Logical Terminal (LT), (also referred to as "local destination" or "Logical Terminal address"), and the three-character branch code. While 'BIC12's are not part of the ISO standard, and are only relevant in the context of the messaging platform, they play a role in FIN system messaging.  According to SWIFT, Logical Terminals are the "entity through which users send and receive FIN messages.", thus, may play a role within routing of the message.

== Usage ==
Business Identifier Codes are primarily used for identifying financial and non-financial institutions involving day-to-day business transactions among one or more institutions in transaction lifecycle.

Example: In SWIFT messages these BICs are embedded within the messages. Consider the message type for cash transfer [[MT103]], here we can find BIC under different tags like 50a (ordering customer), 56a (intermediary), 57a (account with institution), etc.

==See also==
{{Portal|Banks}}
* [[Authoritative Legal Entity Identifier]] (ALEI)
* [[Bank account]]
* [[Bank Identification Number]] (BIN)
* [[Cross-Border Inter-Bank Payments System]] ([[China International Payments System]]) (CIPS)
* [[Data Universal Numbering System]]
* [[Financial Stability Board]]
* [[International Bank Account Number]] (IBAN)
* [[International Business Registration Number]] (IBRN)
* [[ISO 8000]]-116
* [[Legal Entity Identifier]]
* [[Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication]] (SWIFT)
* [[Unique Entity Identifier]]
* [[Value transfer system]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.iso.org/iso/iso_catalogue/catalogue_tc/catalogue_detail.htm?csnumber=60390 ISO 9362:2014 Banking -- Banking telecommunication messages -- Business identifier code (BIC)]
{{ISO standards}}
{{Bank codes and identification}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iso 9362}}
[[Category:1975 introductions]]
[[Category:ISO standards|#09362]]
[[Category:Banking terms]]
[[Category:Financial regulation]]
[[Category:Financial metadata]]
[[Category:Bank codes|ISO 9362 SWIFT BIC codes]]
[[Category:Company identification numbers]]
[[Category:Unique identifiers]]