The Saudi National Commercial Bank SWIFT/BIC code

What SNCBBHBM means for a payment to The Saudi National Commercial Bank

Whether a recipient gives you SNCBBHBM or SNCBBHBMXXX, you are looking at the same address for The Saudi National Commercial Bank in Bahrain. Banks worldwide use these codes to route payments between countries to the right institution. In daily life you usually come across the code on invoices from abroad, in payment forms and on the account details of The Saudi National Commercial Bank customers.

This page is meant to help anyone who receives money at an account at The Saudi National Commercial Bank. A SWIFT code names an institution, not a single account.

Why The Saudi National Commercial Bank has an 8- and an 11-character code

The structure of every SWIFT code never changes: four characters for the institution, two for the country and a two-character location code. In this case, the 8-character core is SNCBBHBM.

The long version adds a three-character extension for a branch or department. If the last three are XXX, the code points to the head office, so SNCBBHBMXXX and SNCBBHBM are interchangeable.

Enter the code in one piece, in upper case and without separators, exactly as shown here. A single character may route the money to a different institution.

Transfer times and tracking a payment to The Saudi National Commercial Bank

There is no single answer: many land the same day or the next, others take several business days. Payments made after the cut-off time or just before weekends and holidays usually go out the next business day. Sometimes a bank asks what the payment is for.

If the money is delayed, ask your bank for the tracking status or the UETR so they can trace it along the chain. Money transfer services often show a status online showing how far the money is.

A missing payment is investigated from the sending side. Request from the sender a copy of the payment confirmation with the date and reference – it helps your own bank look for the money.

Where our SWIFT data comes from

We gather SWIFT/BIC codes using publicly available data and update them from time to time. Institutions merge, change names and retire codes – a directory can be a step behind. Counts and locations come from our directory.

Use this page as a reference, rather than as the last word. GoldexPay has no connection to The Saudi National Commercial Bank. Spotted outdated information? Tell us via our contact form.

Incoming international payments to The Saudi National Commercial Bank

If you are waiting for a payment from another country, give the sender a complete set of details. Share the account holder’s name, the IBAN or account number, SWIFT code SNCBBHBMXXX and your address.

Their bank may request the address of your bank; the head office in Manama is usually fine. Double-check each detail before you send them – a sender rarely spots a mistake in someone else’s details.

Money from abroad does not always land for the full amount. Charges on incoming payments vary per bank – the price list of The Saudi National Commercial Bank tells you what applies. For business payments, it is common to state who bears the costs, so that nobody is left short.

The Saudi National Commercial Bank: head office code versus branch codes

With 3 codes in 1 locations, The Saudi National Commercial Bank is one of the banks that use separate codes for parts of the organisation and departments. The main code is SNCBBHBMXXX.

Unless the recipient tells you otherwise, use SNCBBHBMXXX or its short form SNCBBHBM. Only use a branch code when your contact explicitly asks for it.

The safest approach is to take the code straight from the account holder’s bank details. Codes can change when banks reorganise.

Changed bank details? Be careful

Stay alert when someone suddenly asks you to send money to another account. The fact that SNCBBHBM exists is no guarantee that a request mentioning it is genuine – fraudsters use real bank codes as well.

Before paying, confirm changed bank details by phone. Urgency and secrecy are warning signs; a genuine business can wait for you to check. Already paid? Call the bank you paid from without delay and ask them to start a recall; also report it to the police.

Recipients can be targeted as well: a classic trick is a buyer who pays too much and then sends a request to send back the difference to another account. A payment confirmation from the sender proves nothing; only your own account shows what has arrived.

Before you send: check the The Saudi National Commercial Bank code

The most reliable source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. If the code you have differs from SNCBBHBM or SNCBBHBMXXX, stop and ask: check with the recipient or with The Saudi National Commercial Bank directly.

If the code is wrong, the transfer may be delayed, be returned or cost extra. Do not forget the IBAN: an error there is more difficult to undo than a wrong code.

An automatic check by your bank merely confirms that the IBAN is valid. More and more banks check the payee name with the account. For a first payment, some people start with a small test amount before sending the rest.

Paying someone abroad from your The Saudi National Commercial Bank account

If you transfer money abroad through The Saudi National Commercial Bank, the fee you see is only part of the cost. On top of a fixed fee, correspondent or intermediary banks can deduct a fee, and when the money changes currency, the bank usually applies a rate that is less favourable than the actual market rate.

Banks do not list the margin on the rate as a cost – you only notice it if you compare. An easy check: put the rate you get against the mid-market rate for the same moment and look at the difference.

For many routes, a specialist provider turns out to be cheaper than a bank, mainly because of the exchange rate. GoldexPay lists transfer providers next to each other so you can see the amount the recipient gets for the same amount sent. Using a transfer service does not mean closing your account at The Saudi National Commercial Bank – you pay the provider from your own account.