SWIFT/BIC codes in Canada: banks starting with H

Canada: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

This overview contains 395 banks and other institutions in Canada, with 613 SWIFT/BIC codes in total. A SWIFT code shows the banks handling a transfer which institution should receive an international payment.

Every bank has its own page showing its main code and if there are any, codes for branches and departments. The rest of this page explain how the codes work, what transfers cost and the checks worth doing.

Which bank in Canada has the most codes?

In our directory, Ss and C Technologies Canada Corp has the largest number of SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in Canada. Its main office has FMCCCATMXXX and that code covers most payments.

Many codes often means that the bank registers branches and departments separately, not necessarily that the bank is the biggest in the country. Unless the recipient asks for a branch, FMCCCATMXXX is fine for transfers to this bank.

The Canadian Dollar (CAD) and conversion costs

The currency in Canada is the Canadian Dollar (CAD). If you send money in a different currency, it has to be converted somewhere along the way.

Which bank converts the payment makes a difference, because each party uses its own rate. In many cases it is cheaper if you send CAD straight away through a transfer service with a good rate so the receiving bank does not need to convert again. With bigger transfers, even a small gap in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Bank or transfer service for Canada?

When you transfer money to Canada via your bank, the stated fee is rarely all of the cost. On top of the fee, correspondent banks may take a cut and, if currencies are converted, the bank usually uses a rate below the real market rate.

That exchange rate margin tends to be the largest cost item, even though it is not listed as a fee. A simple test: put the rate you get next to the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

For many currency pairs, a specialist provider turns out to be less expensive than a bank. On GoldexPay we compare what recipients in Canada receive across services, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot.

Banks in Canada starting with :letter

You are looking at a filtered list: only institutions in Canada with a name starting with :letter. The totals mentioned here cover every bank we list, not just the ones under :letter.

Bank not listed? The registered name may begin with another word, for example the full legal name rather than a brand name. Try the full list for Canada when you do not know how the name is spelled.

How reliable is this list?

The best place to find the correct BIC remains a document from the bank itself, such as a statement or the account page in online banking. If the code you have does not match our list, stop and ask: check with the recipient or the bank.

The directory on GoldexPay is based on publicly available sources. Still, banks merge or retire codes and our data may lag behind. Treat our data as a starting point rather than the last word: the bank details from the recipient come first. GoldexPay is not a bank.

Watch out for invoices containing changed bank details. Before paying, verify changed details through a separate channel.

Transfer times to Canada

How quickly money reaches Canada depends on several factors: the currency, how many intermediary banks are involved, daily processing deadlines and differences in time zone. Transfers sent late in the day or just before a weekend or public holiday often start the next business day.

If the money is late, the sender should contact their own bank for a trace – the receiving bank often cannot see a payment that has not arrived. Specialist transfer services often show a status online, which makes it easier to see where the money is.

Getting paid from abroad into an account in Canada

Someone abroad who wants to pay you will ask for a few details about your account. In practice that means: your name exactly as it appears on the account, your IBAN or account number, the BIC of your bank and, often, your postal address.

Your bank’s code appears in the list on this page. Certain banks may also want the name and address of your bank; it does no harm to include it.

Expect that the incoming amount is below the amount on the sender’s receipt. Fees for incoming transfers differ from bank to bank. For business payments, agree who bears the costs, so nobody is left short.

SWIFT transfers to Canada

To pay into Canada you will usually need the BIC. Without it, most banks will not process the payment.

Not every country uses IBAN numbers – where there is none, the local account number is enough. The receiving bank usually provides instructions for payments from abroad, and it is worth following them to the letter. Before it arrives, a transfer can pass through correspondent banks.

How SWIFT codes from Canada are built

Bank identifier codes use one international format: eight characters plus an optional three-character extension. First comes four letters for the bank, followed by two letters for the country and two characters for the location.

For banks in Canada, letters five and six are the ISO country code of Canada – that is the quickest way to spot one. When the country letters do not match Canada, you are looking at a bank somewhere else, so check again.

When a code ends in XXX, it means the head office. For most transfers the head office code is fine unless the recipient asks for a specific branch.