Bank Codes for Requesting Wires

Find out about these bank codes needed for requesting wires: ABA, IBAN, SWIFT/ BIC, BSB, and CLABE.

Required banking codes for wires:

• U.S. dollars require an ABA/ routing number
• Foreign currency requires the SWIFT/ BIC
• IBAN, BSB, or CLABE code in place of or in addition to the bank account number

SWIFT/ BIC are required for all foreign bank wires.

Definitions:

• What is an ABA?  The ABA (American Bankers' Association National Numeric System) routing number is a unique, 9-digit identifying transit number assigned to each bank.
• What is the IBAN? The IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a series of alphanumeric characters that uniquely identify an account held at a bank. It can be up to 34 characters long and contains at least one 2-character country code, 2 check digits, and the basic bank account number. The basic bank account number identifies the bank as well as the account holder. In printed format, spaces are inserted for readability (e.g., DE16 5003 3300 0532 0130 00).
• What is the BIC or SWIFT? The BIC (Bank Identifier Code) is an 8-character code also known as the SWIFT address and is uniquely assigned to banks. Branch codes can be added to the BIC to further designate which branch of a bank should receive the SWIFT message. When a branch code is added, the BIC has 11 characters (e.g., BARCGB22 or DEUTDE3B400).
• What is the BSB? The Australian BSB (Bank/ State/ Branch) code is a 6-digit code that precedes the actual bank account number. The first 3 digits represent the bank institution code, and the last 3 digits represent the actual branch code for the beneficiary account. The BSB code is required for all wires going to Australia.
• What is the CLABE? The CLABE (Clace Bancaria Estandarizada) is a banking standard for the numbering of bank accounts in Mexico. This standard is a requirement for the sending and receiving of international transfers since June 1, 2004. The CLABE account code has 18 digits which always contains the payee's bank account number. The CLABE code is required for all wires going to Mexico.

European community requirements

IBAN and SWIFT/ BIC are required on invoices (European Community and some other countries):

• The European Payments Council requires that all European banks provide their account holders with their IBAN and BIC. Additionally, the account holders are required to provide these 2 pieces of information on any documents used in cross-border invoicing.

Additional countries that require an IBAN code are:

• Israel
• Madagascar
• Romania