You may have been asked for SWIFT codes when moving money internationally, but what are they? We explain what SWIFT codes are and provide a list of common SWIFT codes used by Hong Kong Banks.
A SWIFT code is a unique standardized international identifier for financial institutions and banks, used when making international wire transfers between banks. Banks use SWIFT codes to identify themselves and their customers in order to send or receive money.
If you’re making an international wire transfer, you’ll need the recipient’s SWIFT code in order to send them money. Without it, your bank may not be able to process the transfer. In some cases, the SWIFT code is also referred to as a BIC (Bank Identifier Code).
Let’s go deeper into what SWIFT codes are and how they are used. We’ll also provide a list of SWIFT codes for banks in Hong Kong to help you when making bank transfers at the end of the article.
A SWIFT code is a unique identification code assigned to financial institutions to facilitate international money transfers, making it a key requirement to have the correct code for the relevant institution.
SWIFT Codes are needed during bank transfers, especially international transfers. To send or receive money via international wire transfer, both the sender and recipient banks will need to input a SWIFT code. This helps to ensure that the money ends up in the correct bank account and that both banks are able to process the transaction.
A SWIFT code consists of eight or eleven characters, including four characters for the bank code, two characters for the country code, and two characters for the location code. The last three codes are optional and represent the branch code, which is used to identify a specific branch of a bank.
For example, the BOCHK SWIFT code is BKCH-HK-HH-(XXX) (hyphenated for easier reading), where BKCH is the Bank code, HK is the Country code, HH is the Location code, and may be followed by the Branch code (XXX).
No, SWIFT codes and IBANs are not the same. A SWIFT code is used when identifying a specific bank during international transactions. An IBAN is used to identify individual bank accounts in international transactions. IBANs can have up to 34 characters, while SWIFT codes are made up of up to 11 characters.
An example of a SWIFT code is AAAAUS33, while an example of an IBAN is GB29NWBK60161331926819.
The SWIFT code for HSBC Hong Kong is HSBCHKHH.
The SWIFT code for Standard Chartered Bank is SCBLHKHH. However, the best way to find the SWIFT code of Standard Chartered Bank is to visit the bank’s website. Alternatively, you can contact the bank directly and ask a customer service representative to provide you with the SWIFT code and other bank transfer details you may need.
The SWIFT code for BOC HK is BKCHHKHH.
The SWIFT code for Citibank HK is CITIHKAX.