A SWIFT code - also known as a SWIFT number is a standard format to uniquely identify banks, non-financial, and financial institutions globally. SWIFT codes are a standard format for Business Identifier Codes (BIC).
If you transmit money across international lines you nearly always need to use a BIC code, as it’s the way banks, financial institutions and money transfer services figure out where the money needs to go. You can think of a BIC code a bit like an international postal code. Your bank can use the SWIFT code to find another bank on the opposite side of the world. Like sending post to an incorrect ZIP/postal code means it may get lost, the same applies for your money and an incorrect SWIFT code.
A SWIFT/BIC code can be either 8 or 11 characters long:
AAAA BB CC DDD
There are 2 types of SWIFT code: live and passive. Live codes are for financial institutions who are connected to the SWIFT network while passive Codes are used for manual transactions. Passive SWIFT codes will have a 1 as the second digit of the 2 character location code.
SWIFT code registrations and management are the responsibility of "Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication" (“SWIFT”) which is located in La Hulpe, Belgium.
SWIFT is the registered trademark of S.W.I.F.T. SCRL with a registered address at Avenue Adèle 1, B-1310 La Hulpe, Belgium.