Sources and open points

Documents first read 21–22 October 2026

• SWIFT, BIC policy, dated 20 January 2023: structure, allowed characters, branch identifiers, connected and non-connected BICs.
• ACER, Question 2.1.2 Data Field (2): lengths of 8 and 11 characters and the XXX rule in ACER's reporting guidance.
• Swift, Information paper: ISO 9362 BIC implementation, changes and impact and Swift, The BIC: frequently asked questions.
• European Payments Council, IBAN and BIC.
• Swift, International Bank Account Number (IBAN).
• European Commission, New EU rules make instant euro payments faster and safer (10 October 2025).
• US FTC, What To Know Before You Wire Money.

Points we could not settle

1. Eighth character values. The 2023 policy gives only 1 as its example; the information paper says connectivity moved to a directory attribute in 2018. We say nothing about other values.
2. Directory. We do not provide a lookup of bank codes. Swift's free BIC search does not allow systematic copying. The US bank codes we show were each read on the bank's own page; Citi, TD Bank and Truist are left out because we found no incoming code on their pages.
3. Country list. The checker requires two letters for the country but does not check that the code is currently assigned.
4. Policy version. The policy document we read is dated 20 January 2023. A newer one may exist.
5. IBAN country formats. We did not load the Swift IBAN Registry, so the IBAN checker tests only the general shape and check digits.
6. Non-euro SEPA and the SEPA Regulation text. Not read.
7. Specialist reading. A payments professional has not gone over the text.

If a bank notice or a Swift document settles one of these points, tell us through the Contact page.

Further reading, 26 October 2026

• EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro, Article 5c inserted into Regulation (EU) No 260/2012: match, close match and no match results, the payer's right to authorise anyway, liability and the 9 October 2025 / 9 July 2027 dates. It replaces our earlier reading of the Commission's press page on this point.

• Bank pages read for the US codes: Chase wire FAQ, Chase, SWIFT code vs routing number, Bank of America wires, Wells Fargo routing and wire FAQ, PNC wire transfers, USAA incoming international wire sheet, BMO U.S. account guide, U.S. Bank, Capital One, Navy Federal.

• Swift, free BIC search terms.

Further reading, 24 October 2026

• The batch checker uses the BIC format from SWIFT's policy and the IBAN modulo 97 test (ISO 13616, general knowledge of the standard, as on the IBAN page). The red-flag weights are our own.