What is a BIC bank, its decryption and methods for determining

If you often turn to banking services, then you most likely have come across a concept such as BIC. But you probably have no idea what it means.

Bank Identification Code (BIC) is a mandatory requisite for any bank, it is informational in nature. On it you can find out the division of a financial organization and its location.

An ordinary user of banking services, he may be useful for making a transfer, making payments from another bank and other operations.

General concept

We will understand what a BIC bank is. Above, we have already decoded this abbreviation as a bank identification code. It can be identified with passport data, but not for citizens, but for financial organizations. It is one of the important details of each banking institution.

This code includes nine digits, or digits. Each of them helps to determine the location of the bank and the specific unit that provides financial services to customers and provides non-cash payments. All assigned BICs are entered in a special directory of the Central Bank, which is updated annually.

And what is the BIC of the beneficiary's bank? This concept is often found in payment documents. This is the bank identification code of the beneficiary's bank, according to the BIC Directory.

Structure

As already indicated, the numbers in the BIC carry an information load. So, the first and second figures determine the bank's affiliation to a particular country (04 is Russia). The next two digits are the code of the RF region according to OKTMO. If they are both equal to zero, then this indicates the organization is located outside the Russian Federation.

The following two (5 and 6) indicate the unit of the financial organization or territorial unit of the Central Bank.

The last three numbers determine the conditional number of the financial organization in the register of the Central Bank. They are identical with the last digits. correspondent account bank. If all three numbers are zero, then this is the cash settlement center of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Number 001 is assigned to the head cash settlement center, and 002 to others structural units Central Bank.

Thus, the structure of the BIC helps to answer the following questions:

• Where is the bank or its structural units located?
• When was the bank or its branch registered (number assigned in order)?

How to find out a BIC bank?

We determined what a BIC bank is. And how to recognize him? There are two possible ways:

• by credit card number;
• by number current account.

How to find out a BIC of a bank by card number

You won’t be able to find out this information in this way; you also need an envelope with the PIN code that you received at the bank along with the card. There are all the details of the issuing financial institution.

If the envelope was lost, you can use the "hot line" of the bank to clarify its BIC. But be prepared for the fact that you will be asked for a card number, a code word for it, passport data and the exact location of the bank branch in which you were issued a card.

But not all banking institutions have their own hotline, especially for regional branches. In this case, you can personally visit the bank you are interested in or refer to its website.

Find BIC by account number

This can be done, but only by personally visiting the bank with a passport. However, if you know the name of the financial institution in which the account is serviced, then you can find out BIC by referring to the website of the Central Bank. There you will find data on all banks and their details.

So, you decided to seek help from the Central Bank of the Russian Federation website. Consider the main steps in determining this element of the bank attribute. But it is worth considering that this method will work only when the name of the bank serving the current account is known.

1. First of all, we open the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. To find it, you can use the search engine.
2. On the first page at the very top we find the yellow button "Entire site".
3. Next, we need the section “Information of the Interregional Information Processing Center of the Bank of Russia”.
4. Then we install the "Distribution of the BIK Directory" software package proposed by the site.
5. Now you can search for the name of the bank that we need, and next to it will be indicated its BIC.

The disadvantage of this search method is that it will require a lot of time, since the names of the banks are not listed in alphabetical order, but according to BIC.

How to determine the BIC of Sberbank of Russia and the Bank of Moscow

First, find out what the BIK of the Bank of Moscow or Sberbank of Russia is.

BIC of Sberbank of Russia for each of its branches will be separate, since each of them belongs to a different region of the Russian Federation. The situation is the same for Bank of Moscow - each structural unit has its own BIC.

How to determine which particular BIC you need? Below you will find the main ways to get the right information. First of all, you need to carefully study the accompanying documents that the client receives when opening a current account (agreement to open an account) or when issuing a plastic card (PIN envelope).

But it often happens that such documents are lost, it can be difficult to find them among many other papers. There is an exit:

1. Information regarding the BIC can be found in any branch of these banks.
2. You can call the Sberbank or Bank of Moscow hotline, which operates around the clock.
3. Such information is mandatory posted on the official websites of banks.
4. You can find out by contacting the bank specialist by e-mail.

Conclusion

Having indicated the correct bank details in the documents, you can be sure that everything Bank operations will be successful. A correctly specified BIC will be a guarantee that the money will move in the necessary direction. But even if the funds go the wrong way, they can be returned. It takes time, strength and patience.