What Are Bank Codes?
Bank codes are numerical or alphanumeric identifiers assigned to financial institutions. They are embedded within an IBAN number to identify which bank holds the account. The format varies by country — for example, Germany uses an 8-digit BLZ (Bankleitzahl), the UK uses a 4-letter prefix, and Turkey uses a 5-digit code.
How Bank Codes Are Used in IBANs
When you receive an IBAN, the bank code is always contained within the BBAN portion (the country-specific part after the two check digits). By extracting and looking up this code, you can identify the exact bank holding the account — which is invaluable for fraud prevention and payment verification.
Our IBAN validator automatically extracts and identifies the bank code from any IBAN you submit.
Bank Code vs SWIFT Code vs Sort Code
These terms are often confused. A bank code is the domestic identifier embedded in an IBAN. A SWIFT/BIC code is the international identifier used for cross-border messaging between banks. A sort code (used in the UK and Ireland) is the branch-level routing number. All three may refer to the same bank, but they serve different purposes in the payment system.