BIC, IBAN and BSB: the bank details

BIC: which institution

The BIC, or Business Identifier Code, is the international standard ISO 9362. Swift uses it for addressing messages, routing business transactions and identifying business parties, and, acting as the ISO registration authority, Swift issues BICs.

Swift describes the structure like this. The letters below are placeholders, not a real code.

Not every BIC is connected to the Swift network: Swift distinguishes connected BICs, which can use the network, from non-connected BICs used for reference only. It also publishes a BIC directory you can search.

IBAN: which account, in countries that use one

IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It is designed to help automate the processing of cross-border payments. Each country that uses one has its own national IBAN format, and the ISO 13616 standard sets out what structure those formats must follow.

ISO has designated Swift as the registration authority for national IBAN formats, and only a national standards body or a national central bank can register one. Swift publishes the IBAN Registry, which holds the technical format for each country that complies with the standard.

BSB: the Australian end

Moneysmart defines a BSB, or Bank State Branch number, as a six-digit number that identifies a branch of a bank or other financial institution in Australia; the BSB plus an account number identifies a particular account. AusPayNet administers the BSB system for Australian financial institutions and runs a public BSB search.

The codes side by side

Who else the transfer names

When a bank sends money overseas, the report it lodges with AUSTRAC must include details about everyone involved: the payer who gives the instruction, the bank that accepts it, the sender that transmits it (where different from that bank), the institution that receives it overseas and makes the money available, the payee who ultimately receives it, and any intermediary banks in between.

When the details change

Scamwatch describes business email compromise scams, in which scammers pose as a business you deal with and send an invoice with new payee details, so that a legitimate payment goes to them instead. Its warning signs include a supplier’s payment details changing without notice, and an email address or website that is slightly different from the one you know.

Scamwatch’s steps, adapted to an overseas payment:

• Stop and check any change to payee information on an invoice or in a message.
• Contact the person or business by phone, using a number you found yourself rather than one in the message.
• Check the email address closely: scammers sometimes add one extra letter or number.

If you paid the wrong details

For any problem with an overseas transfer, Moneysmart says to contact the bank or money transfer business first, and if you are unhappy with the response and the business is an AFCA member, to complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority. For payments in general, Moneysmart says the sooner you contact your bank, the more likely you are to get your money back.