SWIFT/BIC codes in Australia: banks starting with L

Bank SWIFT codes for Australia

This overview contains 608 banks and financial institutions in Australia. A SWIFT code shows every bank in the chain exactly which bank should receive an international payment.

Look for the recipient’s bank in the list and click through to see the full list of codes and the details a transfer needs. Below the list we explain how a code from Australia is put together, how to send money to Australia without overpaying and how to check a code before you pay.

Getting paid from abroad into an account in Australia

Someone abroad who wants to pay you will ask for several details about your account, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. Give them your name as registered with the bank, your account number or IBAN, your bank’s SWIFT code and your address.

The code of your bank appears in the list on this page, yet the version on your own statement or in your banking app is leading. You can add your bank’s name and city because some forms have separate fields for it.

Expect that the incoming amount is smaller than what the sender paid. Fees for incoming transfers differ from bank to bank; check the price list of your bank. Make clear with the sender who covers the fees, especially for larger amounts.

The Australian Dollar (AUD) and conversion costs

The currency of Australia is the Australian Dollar (AUD). If you send another currency, it has to be converted somewhere along the way – by your bank, a bank in between or the recipient’s bank.

Where the conversion happens affects the final amount, since every bank sets its own rate. Check what AUD arrives with several providers; the difference between options can be larger than you expect. Rates for AUD change all the time – some providers let you lock in a rate.

How long does a transfer to Australia take?

There is no fixed answer for transfers to Australia: some arrive the same day or the next. Payments made after the cut-off time or just before a weekend or public holiday often go out a business day later.

A growing number of banks use SWIFT gpi for faster and traceable payments. Every gpi transfer gets a unique reference, the UETR. Specialist transfer services usually provide a status online.

The largest SWIFT network in Australia: BNP Paribas Services, (Australia Branch)

Of all banks we list for Australia, BNP Paribas Services, (Australia Branch) has the most SWIFT codes. The head office of BNP Paribas Services, (Australia Branch) has PARBAUS1066; that is usually the right code for a transfer.

Banks differ in whether they register branch codes. If not a branch code is given, the head office code PARBAUS1066 works for a payment to BNP Paribas Services, (Australia Branch).

International payments to Australia and the BIC

Because Australia does not belong to SEPA, an international payment normally goes as a SWIFT payment. That means you always need the SWIFT/BIC code of the receiving bank, together with the account number or IBAN.

Not every country uses IBAN numbers – where there is none, the local account number is enough. The receiving bank usually provides a list of required details for incoming international payments. On the way to Australia, a payment can pass through correspondent banks that charge for their part.

The structure of a Australia SWIFT/BIC code

SWIFT/BIC codes use one international format: eight characters. It starts with four letters for the bank, followed by two letters for the country and two characters for the location.

In every code from Australia, letters five and six show the two-letter ISO code of Australia. When the country letters point to another country, you are looking at a bank somewhere else.

An 11-character code adds three characters for a branch, where XXX means the head office. For most transfers the head office code is what you need.

What a transfer to Australia really costs

The price of a transfer to Australia is made up of several parts, and the fee on your screen is only one of them. Besides the fee, intermediary banks may take a cut, and when the money is converted the bank usually uses a less favourable rate than the real market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee. Check the bank’s rate against the mid-market rate that you find on financial sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

For a lot of currency pairs, a transfer service is less expensive than a traditional bank transfer – mostly thanks to the exchange rate. On GoldexPay we compare the amount that arrives in Australia across providers, so you can pick the cheapest route.

Filter: banks in Australia with :letter

This filter limits the list to banks in Australia starting with :letter. The totals mentioned above still refer to all banks in Australia.

Cannot find the bank? The registered name might start with a different letter – think of the full legal name instead of the brand. Try the full list for Australia if you are not sure the exact name.

How reliable is this list?

Have the recipient copy their bank details directly from their online banking. A wrong code can cause a delay, a payment being sent back or extra fees, so compare it with the list on this page.

The directory on GoldexPay draws on publicly available sources that we update periodically. Even so, banks merge or change codes and our data may lag behind. Treat this list as a reference, not as the final word: the bank details from the recipient come first. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site.

Be wary of invoices containing changed bank details – a common fraud method. A real SWIFT code says nothing about who owns the account: criminals use real codes too.