BIC and IBAN numbers - International banking

Just wondering if anyone has experience with IBAN and BIC codes.

I need to transfer some Euro into $ and wondered if there is any easy way to identify my personal numbers from a US Bank Acct (such as Routing numbers=IBAN? or Acct. Number =BIC? etc...)

I am fairly certain UK Banks use them for international currency transfers, but wondered if US Banks are also starting to use these codes.
Have already sent message to my bank...but they are slow responding...

Thanks

They should be at the top of bank statements, don't know about the US, but that is the case for UK

(some) British banks have started putting these numbers on statements. have you had a look to see if they might be included on yours?

I don't know about where to find those, maybe your bank's own website or your online account (if you have one), has that information.

Although a little bit off-topic, I suggest you look at International Money Transfers with Paypal for money transfers to US in general.

When I access my UK account online there do not have these numbers, but they have been on the top of my bank statements now for over a year, so I am guessing a lot more banks do this, although I do not know for US banks. Citibank Germany also include these at the top of bank statements, only mention that as Citibank is part of a US group ! although that's probably completely useless information !

US banks have ABA numbers, also known as routing numbers to identify the bank. These are functionally equivalent to the internationally used IBAN numbers for routing money. To make a transfer you will, at the very least, need the IBAN bank number (gotten from the bank, bank statement, or printed in the lower left corner of your checks) and of course, your bank account number. Banks typically don't publicize IBAN information. US banks also have SWIFT codes to identify them, but those are seemingly useless when making international transfers TO the US. You also may need the bank transfer address in the US for transfers and their phone number. This is often different from the branch address so call your bank and ask them.

Hope that helps.

yes, it works very well within the EU. I've no idea how widespread the use/availability of IBAN numbers is in the US or rest of the world though

By the way, SWIFT basically is the same as BIC

I understood that IBAN (despite the "I" for "International") was a European thing, however all banks should have SWIFT codes. These are pretty easy to find by doing an internet search (although I've never tried for the US). You'll need more info than this as well, but I have managed to transfer money to NZ (in € and NZD) using Stadtsparkasse on-line banking.

yes SWIFT is the same as BIC. the I in IBAN is "International" but yes using the IBAN and BIC numbers within the EU makes life a lot easier because you will only be charged the same as a national bank transfer. This will not apply to transfers outside the EU.

It seems to be a European thing. I have transferred cash to Ireland using my IBAN and BIC codes, and vice versa. I'm with the HVB. It cost me approx 10 euro though.

@Memo
Thanks, that link got a bit messy and detailed...but seems the best advice came from
Jarvis:

"another idea of course is that if you have a trusted individual "on the other side" (e.g. a parent) and have them issued with a debit card on your german account. they can then take cash out and pay it into your US/UK/wherever account. has to be some trust there, obviously... "

I will wait to see if Bank of America provides me with the BIC and IBAN Numbers 'cause my Mom will probably just go shopping with my card!

Any time...
Put thejarvii on the smartest forum poster thread then (don't put my name though, I merely referred to a link within Toytown and that would be cheating, hehe)

you should not have been charged if you provided both pieces of information. If i remember correctly it is even part of European and National law that the transfer cannot cost more than a national transfer, and since Ireland uses yoyos then there isn't even exchange rates to consider.

use their online feature and it costs 15 cent. From Germany --> Ireland (AIB anyway)

Does anyone know an easy way to locate the addresses and IBAN/BIC/SWIFT codes for German banks?

German Rechnungs do not provide this info and everytime I submit a claim to my health insurance they want to reject it because those details are not provided. I want to tell them to do the legwork themselves...after all I have given them an account, payee, and bank name...but somehow I feel they might laugh in my face.

I have tried internet searching on the individual bank's website (after searching by BLZ) and I just get lost in a maze of searches and frequently asked questions. It's tedious. I don't have the time or the language stamina to continually call the banks for the info.

Any solutions? Just wondering if there is a master list/site somewhere out there...

I used Deutsch Bank online banking and there is a search tool within the transfer window that allows you to look these up if you know the name of the Bank and a part of the address.

Yeah which bank are you with?

I have a different answer for you: Contact those who sent the bill to you and ask them to provide this missing information. They are the ones who want to get paid and since that is their bank, they are more likely to know where to find the info.

I personally am with Citibank but I am not the one making the payments. I have done the BLZ search when using online banking and that is as much as it gets you...there is no option to search for an actual bank address (the address which coincides with that account) or BIC/SWIFT/IBAN.

The payments are being made in the UK by my health insurance provider so a normal Überweisung is not being used. They are paying direct deposit but some other way. And they want ALL the information about each bank rather than just what the Rechnung provides.

As it stands now we have to call each bank of every service provider to get the information

@Showem
Yeah that is a thought...still...a lot of calls as there are a lot of Rechnungs (lots of different places involved with my broken ankle it seems).

Swift have an online search facility for Swift / BIC numbers here:

Swift search site

But that only identifies your bank branch. Think you need to contact your bank to get your IBAN.

Tom came across something helpful:

IBAN search

Perhaps with that and what Brummie posted we might just be able to zoom through this!

Cheers guys!

and Happy Birthday Brummie!

that should tell you the IBAN number Blimey although I'm a little sceptical of typing my bank details into a random, none secure, website

they arent our bank details... And it seems to me that blz & kontonummers are banded about germany like no-ones business...

I guess unless you dont want someone putting money into your account then I wouldnt worry..

Or am I wildly mistaken?

Dunno but the details we are putting in are straight off the Rechnungs. I see bank details of service providers all over the place too...it seems to be the thing. It is not our own IBAN we are after but rather the service provider's.

ah yeah I see, away you go then. Looks good. And its true, bank details on their own aren't dangerous as such

surely if i have my account number and sort code then to use it as an IBAN is just adding numbers and letters BEFORE the account number i have?

is it bank dependent or even branch dependent?

bank of scotland are as usual making everything impossible as despite phoning them at 8am the best they can do is send me my IBAN and BIC by email this AFTERNOON - so at the earliest 4hrs later.

anyone know anything about this.

Topics merged by admin

They have no excuse really, First Direct gave me mine over the phone immediately (although they did have to transfer me to a different department), actually now I think they include it in their statements. Anyway, the IBAN is letters and numbers before the sort code and account no., but different for different types of account at the same place.

Schotte You and I imagine this thing to be a simple as it ought to be, not as simple as it is.
You can find out the BIC easily enough online.
But the IBAN is not something that my UK bank can or will tell me on the phone either. "Come in and see us," they say.
Your IBAN OUGHT to be on your latest statement. But that only works if you still receive paper statements...

Do a search mate - I think somebody, many moons ago, posted a link to an IBAN generator that can work it out for you.
EDIT: Ah, p'raps it was a BIC generator. This has been discussed before though - might even have been me that posted it.

Not on your bank statements?

But aye, UK banks in utter crapness when dealing with anything "foreign" or outside the box shocker!

I've used this program to calculate my IBAN when I mislaid the piece of paper I had it written on.

thanks peeps. got the email at last.

the IBAN for me is 8letters and numbers followed by my sort code then my account number.

why the hell they cant give me that over the phone is crazy!

cheers for the replies.

There does seem to be a thing about keeping UK bank details secret, I can't imagine why. I bought recently on UK EBay and wanted the sellers bank details to transfer money directly into his UK bank. He flatly refused, saying EBay prohibited it (not quite true, but in the UK they certainly recommend against it for some reason). I always pay by bank transfer here in Germany (and German banks let you get the IBAN number of any of their accounts online)

In some ways I can understand the British reticence about giving out bank account numbers. The banks don't actually control when companies palce a direct debit on your account as I found out the hard way with SSKM:

I found AOL helping themselves to money off my account when I didn't even have a business relationship with them. The AOL call centre had persuaded my ex to give them MY account number.

So in theory, you could use someelse's account number to buy stuff.

Kind of the same here with the Überweisung system. Anyone who knows the account number can fill out one of those little forms and stick it in the bank's postbox - and if the victim doesn't dispute the transaction within a certain time period (what is it - 10 days?) they're screwed.

Not sure if it's the same with direct debits though.

Not sure of the rules in UK, but that sort of thing is safe as houses here. Any suspicious debit must be immediately refunded by a German bank without question.

YL6

They'd need the correct signature too. If it's not correct then it's invalid (or fraud) and if the bank pays on the basis of a forged signature they'd have to refund the dosh...

YL6

Barclays (UK) have an online IBAn generator now. If you know the account number and sort code you can generate the IBAN

Link please?
According to their international banking assistance:

Get an account at Stadsparkasse. Best Bank in town.

And they are unique because they actually have good, friendly customer service, and competitive interest rates on loans dispo, or whatever. They will work with you on just about anything you want.

Their online banking is great, easy to use, and has clear, concise information (including all the BIC and IBAN numbers). Worldwide transfers are a snap. I think it's also available in English.