Facilitating Payments Across Borders? Check if you need an IBAN or a SWIFT code

An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a standardized system for identifying banks and accounts during cross-border payments. It consists of two letters, two bank verification digits and up to 35 characters. It reduces errors and transfer delays, and is used in over 75 countries. The US, Canada, and some Asian economies do not use IBAN, but have their own identification codes for cross-border payments.

SWIFT (Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is a secure messaging system created in 1973 by 239 banks from 15 countries. It allows banks to send and receive encrypted information for cross-border money transfers. Both IBAN and SWIFT are widely accepted bank identification codes for cross-border payments.

IBAN and SWIFT, what is the difference?

IBAN provides more detail than SWIFT code, leading to its introduction. It identifies a specific account at a bank in a country while SWIFT identifies a bank during an international transaction. IBAN is issued by the bank according to IBAN Registry format, while SWIFT, also known as Bank Identification Code or BIC, is assigned by the financial cooperative company, SWIFT, which is made up of central banks in the Group of Ten or G-10.

Regarding payments, there are various options available, such as e-commerce payment solutions, ed tech payment systems, online payment platform for government, insurance and NBFC sites, online travel payment solutions, OTT Platform payment systems, and digital wallets. These can be used for various purposes, such as creating payment links, buttons, and QR codes for payments, e-invoicing, and secure online payment processing. The best solutions can vary based on factors like the type of business, needs, and budget.

Understand your IBAN

Country code – the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) country code
Check digits – two check digits provided by the issuing financial institution based on a calculation that considers the entire IBAN
Bank identifier – code that shows the financial institution and, when correct, the branch of that financial institution servicing an account
Basic bank account number (BBAN) – code that shows an individual account, at a specific financial institution, in a particular country

Understand your SWIFT code or the BIC

SWIFT (the organization) issues the BIC code which is 8-11 characters long. This code gives a record of the following:

Entity’s legal name
Entity’s registered address
Status as a financial or non-financial institution
Record publication date
Date of last update of the record
Expiry date of the record (if expired)
If the record is self-maintained

How can we help?

Safexpay offers virtual IBAN creation, enabling merchants to generate virtual bank accounts for recipients, such as vendors and suppliers. With this service, merchants can receive and make payments via bank transfers or wire transfers, all in one platform. They can also keep track of payments and monitor their balance over time through an account summary, and track payment status. Safexpay is a top online payment solution for D2C brands, e-commerce, ed tech, OTT platforms, and more, providing a secure and convenient payment experience.

Safexpay IBAN service also supports third party validation for Banking, Financial services and Insurance sector.

How Safexpay’s Payment Aggregator in UAE works

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Easy Checkout Solution i.e. Aasaan Checkout

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