SWIFT/BIC codes in China: banks starting with R

Finding a SWIFT code in China

Our directory contains 668 banks and financial institutions in China, with 2652 SWIFT/BIC codes in total. Each code identifies an institution or a specific branch or department, so a payment from abroad reaches the right place.

Look for the bank you need in the list and open its page to see all codes we have. Further down you can read how a code from China is put together, how to send money there without overpaying and what to check before you pay.

Paying in CNY: what conversion costs you

Most accounts in China are typically held in CNY, the local currency. When you pay money in a different currency, the amount has to be converted at some point – by your bank, a bank in between or the recipient’s bank.

Who converts the payment makes a difference. Check how much CNY the recipient gets via several providers before choosing one. On larger amounts, a seemingly small gap in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

When does money sent to China arrive?

How quickly money arrives in China is determined by a few things: which currency you send, how many intermediary banks are involved, cut-off times and differences in time zone. Bank holidays in China or in the sending country add a day or more.

A growing number of banks are connected to SWIFT gpi for faster and traceable payments. Each gpi transfer carries a unique reference, the UETR, which the sending bank can use to trace it. Save the payment confirmation until the recipient confirms; a bank needs it to start a trace.

Paying a bank in China from abroad

Since China does not belong to SEPA, an international payment normally goes through SWIFT. This means you always need the SWIFT/BIC code of the recipient’s bank in addition to the account details.

In some countries, the account is identified by a local account number rather than an IBAN, sometimes with an extra bank or branch code. The receiving bank often provides instructions for incoming international payments – follow them exactly. On the way to China, a transfer can go through correspondent banks.

Sending money to China for less

A bank transfer to China often costs rather more than the fee suggests. You pay the transfer fee, possibly charges from intermediary banks and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup.

That exchange rate margin tends to be the biggest cost item. A simple test: put the rate you get next to the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

Specialist money transfer services often use a rate near the mid-market rate and lower fees. GoldexPay lists transfer services side by side, showing the amount that reaches the recipient before you commit.

Filter: banks in China with :letter

You are looking at a filtered list: just banks in China with a name starting with :letter. The counts in the introduction still refer to the whole country and not only this selection.

If a bank does not appear here, check another letter: banks are often registered under their full legal name. The complete list remains one click away when you cannot find the bank here.

Check the code before you pay

The most reliable place for the right code is a document from the bank itself, such as a statement or the account page in online banking. If the code you have differs from the code listed here, do not guess.

Our SWIFT/BIC directory draws on public sources. Even so, banks merge or retire codes and our data may lag behind. Before any payment that matters, check the BIC with the recipient. We are an independent comparison service.

Fraudsters often use fake invoices with new bank details from what looks like a familiar address. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about whether a request is genuine – scammers use the codes of real banks.

What a sender needs to pay you in China

If you expect a payment from another country in China, send the payer a complete set of details. That means: your full name as your bank knows it, your IBAN or account number, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and usually your address.

Find the bank in the list on this page. You can add your bank’s name and city because some forms have separate fields for it.

Expect that the incoming amount is below the amount on the sender’s receipt. Correspondent banks can take a fee, your bank may charge for incoming payments, and when currencies differ, an exchange rate margin comes on top. For business payments, state how the fees are split to avoid a shortfall.

Bank of Communications and its SWIFT codes

Among the 668 institutions we list, Bank of Communications holds the largest number of SWIFT/BIC codes in China. The head office of Bank of Communications uses COMMCNSHXXX; that is usually the right code for a transfer.

Many codes usually reflects separate codes for branches, departments or services, not necessarily that the bank is the biggest in the country. Making a payment to Bank of Communications? Go with COMMCNSHXXX except when the recipient gives you a branch code.

The structure of a China SWIFT/BIC code

Each SWIFT/BIC code consists of eight or eleven characters. Characters one to four identify the bank, the fifth and sixth characters form the country code and the next two mark the location.

You can recognise a bank code from China by the fifth and sixth characters: they always show the ISO country code of China. When the country letters do not match China, the code belongs to a bank in another country – worth double-checking.

An 11-character code ends in three characters for a branch. Use a branch code only if the recipient’s bank asks for it – otherwise stick with the head office.