Sending or receiving funds to or from a foreign bank account can sometimes seem rather confusing. Fortunately, much work has been done recently to standardise the international banking system to make it much easier for all concerned.

In order for us to send payments to overseas bank accounts, we will need you to provide us with certain details, all of which you should be able to obtain from the bank or your estate agent that you are purchasing through. The information on this page should help you understand which details you will need to provide us with, but of course if you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us on 0117 980 9990.

SWIFT

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) is the global platform for the instant wiring of domestic and international money transfers.

BIC (Bank Identification Codes) and SWIFT codes

Bank Identification Codes are a universal method of identifying financial institutions, to enable the automated processing of telecommunications messages (SWIFT messages) in the banking system. They are applicable to all banks and financial institutions, and will typically consist of eight consecutive alphanumeric characters, although some will contain eleven. We will need the BIC / SWIFT code in all cases in order to make or receive a payment to or from a foreign bank.

IBAN (International Bank Account Numbers)

The purpose of the IBAN is to make it possible to identify an account held at a bank anywhere in Europe, to enable the easier flow of monies between the member countries. To comply with EU regulations we are required to have an IBAN number for all payments made to EU countries. If the bank is in a non-European country, the bank account number will suffice.

The format of the number will vary from country to country, but it will always include your account number. The table below gives a typical example of the specific IBAN used in each of the participating countries.

Settlement and value dates

The "settlement date" is the date on which we arrange to send the money to the destination account.

The "value date" is the date on which the money should actually be received by the destination bank. Different currencies have different value dates; pounds, euros, US dollars and Canadian dollars value the same day, but all other currencies value between one and two working days later.

You should always let us know when exactly you will need the funds to be cleared by so we can help you choose the most appropriate settlement date. For example if you needed Swiss francs to be cleared in an account by the 23rd, you should set the settlement date for the 22nd at the latest (assuming they were both working days).

Please note that it will depend on the receiving bank whether the funds they receive are actually allocated to individual accounts the same day they receive them.

Country / continent conventions

Each country has its own payment system, but they will all typically require the use of:

1. a code to identify the particular bank; and
2. a number to identify the particular account held at that bank.

The following is a guide to the system(s) operated in the countries where our clients most commonly send foreign currency.

United States
The major national payment system in the US is the Fedwire. As well as the BIC / Swift code, each bank is also identified by a 9-digit code which is often known as the ‘Fedwire code’ or the ‘American Banker’s Association’ (ABA) number. An example would be 091827364. There are no specific rules for account numbers.

Europe
Payments can be made through the individual payment system of the 25 member states or through the TARGET system, which covers all 25 countries. BICs and IBANs have been introduced to standardise the system (see above).

Australia & New Zealand
Banks are identified through the Bank/State/Branch code, known as the ‘BSB code’, which consists of 6 digits. An example would be BSB123456. Account numbers have a maximum of 9 digits.

Canada
Canadian banks are identified using an 8-digit code. The first 3 digits identify the bank (often referred to as the “institution code”) and the following 5 identify the branch (often known as the “transit number”), e.g. 456-00123. Account numbers have a maximum of 12 digits.

South Africa
The South African system uses a 6-digit code to identify the bank and branch. In some instances an 8-digit code will be provided by the bank but only the first 6 digits will be required for the payment instruction. An example would be 12-45-98.

Bank receiving charges

Payments made to banks in foreign countries may be subject to a receiving charge once the funds arrive with the destination bank, or if they are routed through an intermediary bank. This means that the amount we send to the receiving account may not be the exact amount received. It is worth checking with the receiving bank whether or not they are likely to make such a charge.