what is bic code

A Bank Identifier Code (BIC) is an international standard for routing business transactions and identifying business parties. It is a unique identifier for business institutions, approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) . BIC is also known as SWIFT-BIC, SWIFT ID, or SWIFT code, after the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), which is designated by ISO as the BIC registration authority. BIC was originally defined as Bank Identifier Code and is most often assigned to financial organizations; when it is assigned to non-financial organizations, the code may also be known as Business Entity Identifier (BEI) . BIC codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international wire transfers, and also for the exchange of other messages between banks. The BIC is used for addressing messages, routing business transactions, and identifying business parties. Swift in its role of ISO registration authority issues BICs. There are two types of BICs: Connected BICs with access to the Swift network and non-connected BICs with no access and used for reference purposes only.