It was in my practical year in the higher institution while in the bank for payment of Student Industrial Work Experience scheme?(SIWES) I was forced to know what a?SWIFT code is, honestly it was so embarrassing, that i had to go do a research and ask questions for clarification.
If you have been hearing about the bank?SWIFT code and wants to know more, continue reading this article for full detail of what a?SWIFT code is.
SWIFT literally stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, it?is the standard format of Bank Identifier Codes(BIC). I would use a typical bank to explain what a SWIFT code is.
Uses Of SWIFT Code In The Bank
SWIFT codes are used for the following;
when you want to transfer money from one account to another.
especially international money transfer, it is?often required by the foreign bank to
which you are making transfer to.
it also helps to quicken the rate at which such international transaction is done
It is also used by banks to send messages among themselves.
Messages sent using the Swift Code is usually more secure
With The swift code, source of the message is being recognized easily
In summary, The?Bank Swift Code?provides information about the bank and branch where the money should be transferred. Being able to check information about the?Swift Code?will provide you with the proper information necessary to make or receive payments.
Some of the banks and their associated branches benefit from an address listing which provides you with the means to match swift codes with financial institution office address.
The Swift Code is made up of 8 to 11 characters.? The primary office of the bank makes use of 8 digits written in a specific format.
The first four digits are written together followed by a space. The next two characters are also written together followed by another space. The next two characters are written together followed by yet another space before the last three characters are written, bring the total to 11 characters.
The first 4 characters stand for the bank code and they are only provided in form of letters. The next two characters, on the other hand, stand for the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code in which the bank is operating and it is represented only by letters.
The next two characters too represent the code for the location of the bank.? This location code is represented by a mixture of digits and letters. If the bank is a passive participant, it will have ?1? as its second character.
The last three characters stands for the branch code. The code is however optional. This is why the Swift Code can either be 11 or 8 characters.
Below is an example of a SWIFT code which gives detailed information about a Zenith Bank branch
Swift Code (BIC) – ZEIBNGLA013 – ZENITH BANK PLC – ABUJA – NIGERIA (NG)
| SWIFT CODE | ZEIBNGLA013 |
|---|---|
| BANK NAME | ZENITH BANK PLC |
| BANK BRANCH | (ABUJA BRANCH) |
| COUNTRY |  NIGERIA (NG) |
| CITY | ABUJA |
| ADDRESS | – |
| ZIP / POSTAL CODE | – |
| Status | Check |
| Money Transfer |
with the description above, a transfer can be done and tracked at ease, we do hope you have learnt something today, do well to share with friends and loved ones.
