SWIFT/BIC codes in Canada: banks starting with W

Bank SWIFT codes for Canada

Here you will find codes for 395 institutions in Canada. Each code points to a bank or one of its branches.

Search for the recipient’s bank below and open its page to see the full list of codes and what else a transfer requires. The sections below covers the structure of the codes, what transfers cost and the checks worth doing before a payment.

Check the code before you pay

The best place to find the correct BIC is a document from the bank itself, such as a statement or the account page in online banking. An incorrect BIC may lead to a delay, a payment being sent back or extra fees – compare it with the code in our list.

The directory on GoldexPay draws on publicly available sources that we update periodically. Even so, banks merge or retire codes. Before a payment of any size, confirm the code with the recipient. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site for money transfers, not a bank.

Be wary of payment requests containing changed bank details, especially when they come by email. Before paying, verify a change of bank details through a separate channel.

SWIFT codes in Canada: banks under :letter

The letter filter narrows the list down to banks in Canada starting with :letter, so you can find a bank faster. The totals mentioned above always cover the whole country and not only this selection.

Cannot find the bank? Its official name may start with a different letter – think of the full legal name instead of the brand. Try the full list for Canada when you are not sure the exact name.

Sending money to Canada for less

A bank transfer to Canada can cost rather more than the fee suggests. You pay a transfer fee, possibly charges from intermediary banks along the way and, above all, the margin on the exchange rate.

That exchange rate margin is often the largest cost item because it is hidden in the rate. An easy check: put the offered rate against the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

For a lot of currency pairs, a specialist provider turns out to be less expensive than a traditional bank transfer – mostly thanks to the exchange rate. GoldexPay compares the amount that arrives in Canada with different services.

How SWIFT codes from Canada are built

SWIFT/BIC codes follow one international format: eight characters, sometimes followed by three more. The first four letters identify the bank, the fifth and sixth characters are the country code and characters seven and eight mark the location.

You can recognise a code from Canada from letters five and six. When those two letters do not match Canada, you are looking at a bank in another country.

When a code ends in XXX, it means the head office and the short version works just as well. In most cases the head office code is fine, unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

Why a transfer to Canada needs a SWIFT code

Because Canada is outside SEPA, an international payment normally goes as a SWIFT payment. This means the payment always needs the BIC of the receiving bank.

Not every country uses the IBAN; in that case the local account number is used instead. The receiving bank often provides a list of required details for payments from abroad, and it is worth following them to the letter. International transfers can pass through one or more intermediary banks, each of which may deduct a fee.

Ss and C Technologies Canada Corp and its SWIFT codes

Ss and C Technologies Canada Corp leads our list for Canada in SWIFT/BIC codes. The head office uses FMCCCATMXXX.

Banks differ in how many codes they register – a high count is not a measure of size. Paying someone at Ss and C Technologies Canada Corp? Use FMCCCATMXXX except when the recipient gives you a branch code.

Tracking a payment to Canada

There is no single answer for payments to Canada: some land within a day. Transfers sent late in the day or just before a weekend or public holiday often start the next business day.

A growing number of banks use SWIFT gpi. Every payment carries a unique transaction reference, the UETR, which the sending bank can use to trace it. Money transfer services often show tracking online.

Canada and the Canadian Dollar

Canada pays in the Canadian Dollar (CAD). When you pay money in a different currency, it has to be converted at some point – by your bank, a bank in between or the recipient’s bank.

Which bank converts the payment matters. Compare what CAD the recipient gets via different providers; the difference between options can be larger than you expect. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small difference in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Incoming international payments in Canada

To receive a transfer from abroad in Canada, the person paying you has to have more than the BIC. In practice that means: your full name exactly as it appears on the account, your IBAN or account number, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and sometimes your postal address.

Find your bank in the list above, but take the code from your own bank details when in doubt. Certain sending banks may also want the name and address of your bank, so keep it at hand.

Expect that the amount credited is smaller than the amount on the sender’s receipt. Intermediary banks may deduct a fee, and when currencies differ, an exchange rate margin comes on top. Make clear with the sender who covers the fees before the money is sent.