ISO 9362:2014

In several articles we will turn our attention to the latest revised edition of ISO 9362 (also known as BIC Code or SWIFT Code), ISO 9362: 2014, the implementation of which will require changes by the RA and the SWIFT users. To enable SWIFT users to investigate the impacts of the revision and where necessary to take the appropriate measures, the implementation of the revised standard includes a transition period starting in January 2015 and ending in November 2018.

In addition to the standard, ISO has defined BIC registration procedures that provide guidelines for the registration, publication and maintenance of BICs issued in accordance with ISO 9362. It describes the core roles and responsibilities of the different stakeholders participating in the registration, publication and maintenance of the BIC.

With the publication of ISO 9362: 2014 and the introduction of new registration procedure of January 2015, which will be discussed in the next article, replace the policy of SWIFT BIC pre-existing, whose elements will be used until the end of the transit period in November 1018.

The BIC is currently based on a data structure defined more than 20 years ago. At the time, the BIC was designed to package multiple information within a single code. The current BIC consists of an institution code, a country code, a location code and an optional branch code. The organization identified by the BIC can register a branch code to identify a specific location, a branch, a department, a business area or a service under its responsibility. A BIC not-connected to the SWIFT network is identified with a ‘1’ in position 8 of the BIC, such BIC is also referred to as a ‘BIC1’. BICs are published in the BIC directory. Detail with this information you can learn from the section "What is SWIFT code" or “ BIC Code / SWIFT Code Structure” on our website.

Expect our future articles who will look at areas that are not impacted by this revision, the changes resulting from the implementation of the revised standard, and the potential impacts from each of the changes during and after the implementation transition period.