Let's take this imaginary 11-character swift code: AAAABBCCDDD Whenever an eight-character code is used, then it is referring to the headquarters (main office) of the institution.Here is how an 11-character code is broken down and what each section of characters represents. They consist of eight or eleven characters. Swift codes are broken down into sections, in the same way telephone numbers are broken into sections, and every section reveals some information about the institution that was assigned this code. The acronym SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. stands for “Bank Identifier Codes” (“bank” instead of “business”) but that is incorrect since non-financial institutions can also join the swift network.Ī “ BIC code” can be seen by many different names, like “ SWIFT code” (most common), “ SWIFT ID”, “ SWIFT-BIC”, “ SWIFT address”, “ BEI” (that comes from “Business Entity Identifier”), or even “ ISO 9362”, which is the standard format that has been approved by the ISO organization. These codes were initially introduced by the SWIFT organization as “swift codes” but were later standardized by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as “BIC” meaning “Business Identifier Codes”.