Bank SWIFT & IFSC Codes is an independent reference site operated by Thorsten Meyer. Its purpose is narrow: help people recognise, validate and understand common banking identifiers before they use them. The flagship Code Desk accepts a BIC/SWIFT code, Indian IFSC or IBAN, detects the likely format and explains the visible components.
The site does not present itself as a bank, payment provider, financial adviser or official directory. It cannot confirm an account holder, account status, payment-network reachability or the safety of a transaction. A structurally valid code can still be wrong for a particular beneficiary. Real payment details should always be verified through a trusted bank or recipient channel.
Privacy-first tools
The structural validators run in the visitor’s browser. There are no cookies, analytics scripts, advertising trackers or third-party embeds. Fonts, styles, scripts and reference datasets are served by this site. An optional full-IFSC lookup calls the site’s stateless branch API after local validation.
This architecture is deliberate. Banking identifiers can be sensitive in context, even when an identifier is not a secret by itself. A format checker does not need to receive the value on a server, so this site does not send it.
Two kinds of accuracy
Algorithmic validators and editorial directories have different trust boundaries. The validators apply published structural rules: BIC character positions, the mandatory IFSC zero, country-specific IBAN lengths and the ISO 13616 MOD-97 checksum. Those rules can be tested deterministically.
The BIC directory and IFSC bank-prefix directory are curated reference data. Institutions merge, identifiers change and branch data is too large and time-sensitive to guess. Directory pages therefore carry a standing instruction to verify details with the bank. If a code is uncertain, it is better omitted than invented.
Data Sources
IFSC branch data: Reserve Bank of India dataset via the razorpay/ifsc project (MIT license), 182,757 branches in the supplied data file; bank code directory and guides are curated editorial data.
The optional AI Assistant follows a strict bring-your-own-key policy: the site supplies no key, pays for no usage and sends a question directly from the visitor’s browser to the provider they select.
Editorial approach
Guides aim to answer the practical question behind a code: what does it identify, which characters carry meaning, what can a format check prove, and what still requires independent confirmation? Examples are clearly treated as examples, not payment instructions. The site avoids fabricated company history, inflated coverage claims and hidden monetisation.
The site currently has no affiliate links and earns no commission from the services it mentions. If that changes, commercial relationships will be labelled and the affiliate disclosure will be updated before referral links appear.
Corrections
Banking reference data deserves careful corrections. If you spot a factual or accessibility issue, email contact@bankswiftifsccodes.com with the page, the disputed detail and a reliable source. Please do not send account credentials, payment authorisations or sensitive personal documents.