What is a SWIFT code and how does it work?

Swift code is a preferred identifier of a an entity (which includes banks). It is usually made from eight or eleven digits. The first four digits are for the financial institution (Bank), subsequent  for the country, subsequent  for region and the following three (optional) for the branch. Hence a swift code being CITIINBB might stand for Citibank (CITI) in country - India (IN) and branch Mumbai (BB)

The swift message may be used for wire transfers in addition to some other message that desires to be sent to this entity thru swift, it can be a Letter of credit, Guarantee or a unfastened layout message for that matter.

SWIFT stands for Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Every financial institution want to sign up for SWIFT Code to make their transaction internationally. It's a completely unique identifier code for banks which generally includes eight- eleven characters.

First four character - Bank name

Next 2 character- Country Code

Next 2 Character - Location Code

Rest characters - Branch Code