BIC, IBAN or routing number? Three codes, three jobs

In this video

1. 0:00BIC, IBAN or routing number?
2. 0:05Three codes, three jobs
3. 0:14The BIC, part by part
4. 0:23The IBAN, part by part
5. 0:36National bank codes
6. 0:47Which codes a payment needs
7. 0:59What these codes do not tell you
8. 1:06Look up the bank behind a code

Transcript

The video has no voice-over. This is the text it shows, chapter by chapter.

0:00 · BIC, IBAN or routing number?

BIC, IBAN and national bank codes. BIC, IBAN or routing number? Three codes, three jobs.

0:05 · Three codes, three jobs

Each code identifies something different. The BIC identifies an institution, and optionally a branch: ISO 9362, 8 or 11 characters, and Swift is the registration authority. The IBAN identifies one account at one institution: ISO 13616, up to 34 characters, and Swift publishes the IBAN Registry. A national bank code identifies a bank in its domestic payment system: it is set nationally and varies by country, for example 9 digits for a US routing number.

0:14 · The BIC, part by part

Deutsche Bank AG’s head office: DEUTDEFFXXX. DEUT is the institution, DE the country (Germany), FF the location (Frankfurt) and XXX the branch, here the head office. A BIC identifies the institution: its code, its country, its location and, optionally, a branch. It names no account. Swift issues BICs and publishes them.

0:23 · The IBAN, part by part

The German example: DE89370400440532013000. DE is the country (ISO 3166-1), 89 the check digits (MOD 97-10), 37040044 the bank code (the Bankleitzahl) and 0532013000 the 10-digit account number. The bank code and the account number together are the BBAN, the domestic account number. An IBAN identifies one account: a country code and two check digits in front of the domestic account number, which starts with the national bank code. The check digits catch most typing mistakes. A valid IBAN does not prove that the account exists, or who holds it.

0:36 · National bank codes

National bank codes identify the bank in its domestic system. United States: the ABA routing number, 9 digits, the last a check digit (ISO 20022 code USABA). United Kingdom: the sort code, 6 digits, written 12-34-56 (GBDSC). India: the IFSC, 11 characters (INFSC). Australia: the BSB number, 6 digits (AUBSB). Canada: the routing number, a 3-digit institution number and a 5-digit transit number (CACPA). Germany: the Bankleitzahl (BLZ), 8 digits (DEBLZ). Not every country uses IBANs: the US, Canada, Australia, China and India use their own formats.

0:47 · Which codes a payment needs

The right code for the right payment. A euro transfer within the EU: the IBAN. Under the SEPA Regulation, banks may not require the BIC. A domestic payment without IBANs: the national bank code and the account number, such as a routing number for ACH or Fedwire. A cross-border payment: the beneficiary bank’s BIC, and the IBAN or the account number and national bank code.

0:59 · What these codes do not tell you

What these codes do not tell you. Who holds the account: payee-name checks do, such as Confirmation of Payee and Verification of Payee. The legal entity behind the bank: the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) does. Whether the institution is licensed: none of these codes is a licence.

1:06 · Look up the bank behind a code

Look up the bank behind a code. Search by BIC, LEI or name: the institution, its branch codes and any national bank code published for it, at elucidate.co/directory. The full guide is at elucidate.co/guides/bic-iban-routing-number.

Sources

• BIC, IBAN and national bank codes identify different things. Elucidate guide, reviewed 31 October 2026: the text this video follows.
• ISO 9362, Business identifier code (BIC), and ISO 13616, International bank account number (IBAN). International Organization for Standardization.
• IBAN (International Bank Account Number) and the IBAN Registry. Swift, registration authority for ISO 13616.
• Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 (the SEPA Regulation). EUR-Lex.