SWIFT Code for Canadian Banks

1. What is a SWIFT Code?

A SWIFT code, also known as a Bank Identifier Code (BIC) is a set of 8 or 11 characters that are used to identify a particular financial institution. SWIFT codes are required to make international wire transfers.

SWIFT codes are broken down into four parts, which each part providing different information about the financial institution that was assigned the particular code. As mentioned above, SWIFT codes are made up of eight or eleven characters and usually takes the following format: AAAABBCCDDD

This imaginary SWIFT code can be broken down into these four parts: AAAA – BB – CC – DDD

• AAAA = Bank Code. For example, “ROYC” is used for Royal Bank of Canada
• BB = Country Code. For example, “US” for “UNITED STATES”, “GB” for “UNITED KINGDOM”, CA for “CANADA”, etc.
• CC = Location Code (where the bank’s head office is located). For example, “FF” refers to Frankfurt.
• DDD = Branch Code (optional). These last three characters represent the “branch code” and refer to the particular branch of the bank. In some cases, these last three characters will be omitted and there would only be an 8-character SWIFT code. Where the last three characters are omitted, the branch code “XXX” is usually used to refer to the institution’s head office.

As an example, let’s take a look at the SWIFT code for RBC. The SWIFT code for RBC is ROYCCAT2XXX. Breaking this SWIFT code into its 4 component parts, we can analyze this code as follows:

8-letter swift code: ROYCCAT2
Branch code: XXX
Institution’s 4-letter code: ROYC
Country code: CA
Location code: T2

2. Where do I find my bank’s SWIFT Code?

Your bank’s SWIFT code can be found on your bank statement or on the bank’s website. However, there are also a number of online tools that can be used to locate the SWIFT code for any financial institution in Canada.

3. What is the SWIFT Code for my bank?