SWIFT Code Full Form, BIC Format and Money From Abroad

Written by India Customer Care editorial team Facts checked against official sources on 31 Oct 2026 Updated 31 Oct 2026

Independent guide. We are not part of RBI, NPCI or any bank, and we never ask for your account details, PIN or OTP.

SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It is a secure network that banks use to send each other payment instructions across borders. A SWIFT code, also called a BIC, is an 8- or 11-character code such as ABCDINBBXXX that tells foreign banks which bank, and sometimes which branch, should receive the money.

Full form

Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication

What it is

A messaging network, not a bank

Code length

8 or 11 characters

Used for

Money to and from other countries

Headquarters

Belgium

Founded

1973

What is SWIFT?

Swift (as it now writes its name) is a cooperative society under Belgian law, owned and controlled by its shareholders. More than 11,500 banks and other financial institutions in over 200 countries and territories use it.

Swift does not move money. It carries the payment instruction from one bank to another. The money itself moves through accounts that banks hold with each other.

How to read a SWIFT/BIC code

The code is a BIC (Business Identifier Code), an international ISO 9362 standard. Swift issues BICs as the official registration authority.

• 8 or 11 characters: the first 8 characters identify the institution. An 8-character code and the same code with XXX added mean the same thing, because Swift uses XXX as the default branch code.
• Branch codes: any other last 3 characters point to a branch, department or service of the same bank, in the same country. Apart from XXX, a branch code never starts with X.
• Real example: every SBI SWIFT code starts with SBININBB: SBIN is the bank, IN is India and BB is the suffix. The last 3 characters change by branch.

How money from abroad reaches your account

Receiving vs sending money abroad

Where to find your bank's SWIFT code

• Ask your bank or branch. This is the safest way. Not every branch has its own SWIFT code.
• Check your bank's official website. SBI publishes a list of 762 SWIFT-enabled branches, all starting SBININBB.
• If your branch has none: SBI tells senders to use the SWIFT code of a link branch or a nearby SBI branch in the same city or state.
• SBI's special code: for payments up to 25,000 US dollars (or the equivalent), SBI asks senders to use SBININBBFXD. For larger amounts, use the beneficiary's home branch code.

Never copy a SWIFT code from an unofficial website or an unknown message. Confirm it with your bank. A wrong code can delay the payment or send it back, with charges.

Purpose of remittance and purpose codes

Every foreign payment must say what it is for, such as family maintenance, salary, a gift or opening an NRE deposit. Write it clearly in the message (fields 70/72 in SBI's sample form).

Indian banks report foreign exchange transactions to RBI, each with a 5-character purpose code starting with P or S. Your bank may ask you to choose the code or confirm the purpose before it credits the money.

Time and charges

• Time: at SBI, money is credited within 1 business day of receiving the message if the account is with SBI, and within 2 business days by NEFT or RTGS if it is with another Indian bank.
• Speed with gpi: Swift says nearly 60% of gpi payments reach the receiver within 30 minutes and almost all within 24 hours.
• Charges: they vary by bank, by currency and by how many banks the payment passes through. The sender's bank and correspondent banks may deduct their fees before the money reaches you.

Example: SBI's charges for receiving money

For sending money abroad under LRS, SBI's schedule shows, for a US-dollar transfer, 10 US dollars by SBI plus 0.9 US dollars correspondent bank charge, plus GST and any TCS. Rates change; check your bank's current schedule.

Tracking a payment with Swift gpi

Swift gpi lets banks track a cross-border payment from start to finish and confirm when it is credited. Each payment carries a UETR, a unique end-to-end reference.

• If money sent to you is late, ask the sender to get the UETR or reference from their bank, and give it to your bank.
• gpi also has a stop and recall service that lets banks stop a payment in flight, for example after a mistake or fraud.
• Since 22 November 2020, Swift has required receiving banks to confirm when such a payment is credited, rejected or on hold.

SWIFT code vs IFSC

You often need both to receive money from abroad: the SWIFT code gets the money to your bank in India, and the IFSC lets that bank pass it on to your branch or, by NEFT or RTGS, to another Indian bank.

Can you use NEFT, RTGS or IMPS for money abroad?

Mostly no. NEFT can send money out of India only to Nepal, under RBI's Indo-Nepal Remittance Facility. Inside India, NEFT and RTGS can carry the last leg of a foreign payment to your account in another bank. For other countries, banks use SWIFT. Read our NEFT guide.

History of SWIFT

1. 1973

   239 banks from 15 countries form a cooperative, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, headquartered in Belgium.

2. 1977

   Swift goes live, replacing telex. 518 institutions from 22 countries are connected.

3. 1983

   The first central banks connect to Swift.

4. 2010s

   Swift gpi arrives, giving banks end-to-end tracking of cross-border payments.

5. 2014

   Swift launches its first local joint venture, SWIFT India, for domestic messaging.

6. 22 Nov 2020

   Receiving banks must confirm on Swift when a customer payment is credited, rejected or on hold.

7. 2026

   Over 11,500 institutions in more than 200 countries and territories use Swift.

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