SWIFT/BIC codes in Belgium: banks starting with F

Belgium: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

This directory covers 333 banks and financial institutions in Belgium, with 651 SWIFT/BIC codes in total. You need such a code mainly for payments across borders, and especially for payments in foreign currencies.

Look for the recipient’s bank in the list and open its page to see all codes we have and what else a transfer requires. The sections below covers how the codes work, the cost of transfers and the checks worth doing.

Paying in euros to Belgium

Within the SEPA zone, euro payments to Belgium use the same rules, so the IBAN does the job in most cases. A field for the BIC is often optional for those payments.

You will still need a SWIFT code for payments in other currencies or transfers from countries outside SEPA. Instant euro transfers are increasingly supported within SEPA – check whether your bank supports them. Provided no conversion is involved, the transfer tends to be inexpensive.

When does money sent to Belgium arrive?

There is no single answer for payments to Belgium: some land the same day or the next. Payments made late in the day or on a weekend or public holiday usually go out a business day later.

When a payment takes longer than expected, ask the sender to contact the sending bank for a trace – the receiving bank often cannot see a payment that has not arrived. Money transfer services usually provide a status online so you can follow the payment.

The structure of a Belgium SWIFT/BIC code

Every SWIFT/BIC code has 8 or 11 characters. It starts with a four-letter bank code, then two letters for the country and a two-character location code.

For banks in Belgium, characters five and six show the two-letter ISO code of Belgium, which makes these codes easy to recognise. Codes with other letters in that position come from another country – a quick way to catch mistakes.

If the last three are XXX, it refers to the main office and the short version works just as well. In most cases the head office code is what you need unless the recipient asks for a specific branch.

Which bank in Belgium has the most codes?

BNP Paribas Securities Services, Belgium tops our list of Belgium banks in SWIFT/BIC codes. Its main office has PARBBEBZXXX; that is usually the right code for a transfer.

The number of codes tells you something about how it organises its payments than about how big it is. Unless the recipient asks for a branch, PARBBEBZXXX is fine for a payment to BNP Paribas Securities Services, Belgium.

Belgium and the Euro

Belgium uses the Euro, with the currency code EUR. When you pay another currency, it gets converted somewhere along the way: by your bank, an intermediary or the receiving bank.

Who converts the payment matters. Often you pay less to send EUR straight away via a transfer service with a good rate rather than letting the receiving bank convert. On larger amounts, a seemingly small difference in the rate adds up quickly.

About our data and how to check a code

The most reliable source for a SWIFT code is the bank details provided by the recipient – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. A wrong code can cause delays, a returned payment or additional charges.

This list is based on publicly available sources. Banks reorganise, close branches and retire codes. Use this list as a starting point rather than the last word: the bank details from the recipient come first. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site.

Watch out for payment requests with changed bank details – a common fraud method. Before paying, verify changed details through a separate channel, using a number you already had.

SWIFT codes in Belgium: banks under :letter

The letter filter narrows the list down to banks from Belgium that begin with :letter to make searching quicker. The totals on this page cover all 333 banks, not just the ones under :letter.

Many institutions appear under their official name, which may start with words like Bank or Banco, so the letter can differ from what you expect. The complete list remains one click away if the letter filter does not help.

The cheapest way to send money to Belgium

When you send money to Belgium via a regular bank, the fee you see is rarely all of the cost. There is the transfer fee, possibly charges from intermediary banks and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup when currencies differ.

The markup on the rate is often the largest part of the cost, even though it is not listed as a fee. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate that you find on financial sites.

Specialist money transfer services frequently use a rate near the mid-market rate with clearer fees. Before you send money to Belgium, it is worth comparing what arrives via GoldexPay rather than accepting the first rate you see.

What a sender needs to pay you in Belgium

For an international payment into a Belgium account, the sender has to have more than the SWIFT code. In practice that means: your full name as your bank knows it, your IBAN or account number, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and, often, your postal address.

Look up the bank in the list on this page and compare the code with your own bank details. Some banks also ask for the name and address of your bank.

The amount you receive is often less than what was sent. Fees for incoming transfers differ from bank to bank. On invoices, agree how the fees are split, so nobody is left short.