Postal Savings Bank of China SWIFT/BIC code

Postal Savings Bank of China SWIFT code: PSBCCNBJ

The short code PSBCCNBJ and the 11-character code PSBCCNBJXXX refer to one and the same institution: Postal Savings Bank of China. A BIC has a single purpose: it makes sure that an international payment reaches the right bank. In daily life you mostly see the code on international invoices, in payment forms and on the account details that Postal Savings Bank of China provides.

This page is meant to help anyone who pays into an account at Postal Savings Bank of China. A SWIFT code names an institution, not a specific account.

A note on our data

The details here are taken from public sources. It is possible that information on this page is out of date. Counts and locations are from our own dataset and may differ from what Postal Savings Bank of China publishes.

See our directory on this page as a handy check. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site for money transfers and not affiliated with Postal Savings Bank of China. Spotted an error? Let us know through the contact page so we can correct it.

Paying into Postal Savings Bank of China in CNY

China uses the Chinese Yuan, code CNY. If you send money in a different currency, the amount has to be converted somewhere along the way. Every conversion costs the amount – usually through the rate rather than a fee.

Where the conversion happens affects the final amount, as rates and margins differ per bank. Check what CNY the recipient gets via different providers; the difference between options can be larger than you expect.

Rates for CNY move all the time. If you pay regularly, a slightly better rate add up over time.

Incoming international payments to Postal Savings Bank of China

Someone abroad who wants to pay you will ask for several details about your account, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. The basics are: your name, IBAN or account number, PSBCCNBJXXX or PSBCCNBJ and often your home address.

Some banks also ask for the address of Postal Savings Bank of China, so keep it at hand. Double-check the details before you share them – a sender rarely spots a mistake in someone else’s details.

Expect that the amount credited is smaller than what the sender paid. Correspondent banks can take a fee and your own bank may charge for processing, and if the currency changes, an exchange rate margin comes on top. Make clear with the sender who pays which costs.

How long does an international transfer to Postal Savings Bank of China take?

There is no fixed answer for international payments: some arrive the same day or the next. Transfers sent after the cut-off time or just before weekends and holidays usually go out a business day later. Extra checks by one of the banks may also cause a delay, even when all details are correct.

When a payment takes longer than expected, ask your bank about the tracking status or the UETR so they can trace it along the chain. Keep the payment confirmation until the money has arrived – you will need it for any trace request.

If the money does not arrive after a few business days, the person who paid needs to start with their own bank. Ask the sender for the payment receipt with the date and reference – it helps your own bank look for the money.

Why Postal Savings Bank of China has an 8- and an 11-character code

The structure of every SWIFT code is always the same: four characters for the institution, a two-letter country code and two for the location. The result is PSBCCNBJ, the short form of the code.

XXX at the end of PSBCCNBJXXX is not a placeholder or an error: it indicates the main office of Postal Savings Bank of China. Certain payment forms insist on 11 characters, in which case you simply enter XXX behind PSBCCNBJ.

Leave out spaces, dots when you enter PSBCCNBJ; the code is always written in one block. A wrong letter may route a payment to a different institution, so copy it carefully.

Which of the 3 codes of Postal Savings Bank of China do you need?

Postal Savings Bank of China uses 3 different SWIFT/BIC codes. Only one is the head office code; the rest belong to branches, and sometimes internal departments.

In most cases there is no need to look up a branch: transfers sent to PSBCCNBJXXX are routed within Postal Savings Bank of China without problems. A branch code only makes sense when the recipient’s bank specifically asks for it, which is more common for corporate accounts and trade services.

Not sure which code to use? Ask the recipient. Codes for branches are more prone to be retired than the head office code.

Paying someone abroad from your Postal Savings Bank of China account

A bank transfer abroad costs more than the fee suggests. There is the transfer fee, sometimes charges from correspondent banks in between and, above all, the exchange rate markup.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee: many banks convert at a rate with a margin built in. A simple test: set the bank’s rate next to the mid-market rate for the same moment and work out the difference on your amount.

For a lot of currency pairs, a transfer service turns out to be less expensive than a bank, mainly because of the exchange rate. Next time you send money, take a minute to compare what arrives on GoldexPay instead of going straight to your bank. Using a transfer service does not mean leaving Postal Savings Bank of China.

Watch out for payment fraud

Scammers regularly send fake invoices containing changed bank details sent from what looks like a familiar address. The fact that PSBCCNBJ exists is no guarantee that a request mentioning it is genuine; criminals use the codes of real banks too.

Always verify a change of bank details through a phone call. Watch out for time pressure, odd spelling or an email address that differs by one letter. Acted too fast? Call your bank straight away and ask them to start a recall and report the fraud.

Recipients can be targeted as well: one known trick is an overpayment followed by a request to send back the difference to another account. A payment confirmation from the sender is no proof – check your own account.

How to check PSBCCNBJ before you pay

Ask the recipient to copy their bank details straight from their online banking. If the code you have differs from PSBCCNBJ or PSBCCNBJXXX, do not guess: check with the recipient or with Postal Savings Bank of China directly.

Mistakes in the SWIFT code are costly rather than fatal. Remember the IBAN: a mistake there can be harder to correct than a wrong code.

An automatic check by your bank only confirms that the IBAN exists, not that it is the right account. Some banks now compare the payee name with the account before you confirm. For a first payment, many people send a small test amount before sending the rest.