SWIFT/BIC codes in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

For Costa Rica we have 38 SWIFT/BIC codes, spread over 33 banks. A SWIFT code shows every bank in the chain which institution should receive the money.

Choose the bank below to view its head office code and its other codes along with tips for payments to and from that bank. Further down we explain how a code from Costa Rica is put together, how to send money to Costa Rica at a fair price and what to check before you pay.

SWIFT transfers to Costa Rica

For Costa Rica you will usually need the BIC. Without the BIC, your bank cannot process the payment.

Depending on the country, the account is identified by a domestic account number rather than an IBAN and sometimes a local routing or branch code. The recipient’s bank usually provides instructions for payments from abroad – follow them exactly. On the way to Costa Rica, a transfer may pass through intermediary banks that take a fee.

Receiving money in Costa Rica from abroad

For a transfer from abroad into a Costa Rica account, the person paying you has to have more than the SWIFT code. Share the account holder’s name, your account number or IBAN, your bank’s SWIFT code and your address.

Your bank’s code is in the list on this page but always compare it with your own bank details. Certain banks may also want your bank’s address; it does no harm to include it.

Do not be surprised if the amount credited 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, a markup on the rate applies. For business payments, state who bears the costs.

When does money sent to Costa Rica arrive?

How quickly money arrives in Costa Rica is determined by a few things: which currency you send, the number of banks in between, cut-off times and time zones. Bank holidays in Costa Rica or in the sending country can add a day or more, because banks do not process payments on those days.

Many banks are connected to SWIFT gpi. Each gpi transfer gets a unique transaction reference, the UETR. Specialist transfer services usually provide a status online.

The structure of a Costa Rica SWIFT/BIC code

Bank identifier codes use the same format worldwide: eight characters plus an optional three-character extension. It starts with four letters for the bank, followed by two letters for the country and two characters for the location.

In every code from Costa Rica, letters five and six show the two-letter ISO code of Costa Rica, which makes these codes easy to recognise. When the country letters do not match Costa Rica, the code belongs to a bank somewhere else.

When a code ends in XXX, it refers to the head office, and the 8-character version leads to the same place. For most transfers the head office code is what you need unless the recipient asks for a specific branch.

What a transfer to Costa Rica really costs

The price of a payment to Costa Rica is made up of more than one component – not only the fee you see. On top of a fixed fee, correspondent banks can deduct a charge, and when the money is converted the bank often applies a rate below the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee: banks convert at a rate with a margin built in. An easy check: put the offered rate next to the mid-market rate and work out the difference on your amount.

Money transfer services frequently use rates closer to the mid-market rate and lower fees. GoldexPay lists transfer services next to each other, showing the amount that reaches the recipient before you commit.

Verifying a SWIFT code from Costa Rica

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 a delay, a returned payment or additional charges, so compare it with the list on this page.

The directory on GoldexPay draws on publicly available sources. Banks reorganise, close branches and change codes. Before a payment that matters, check the code with the recipient. GoldexPay is a comparison service for money transfers and not part of any bank listed here.

Be wary of payment requests containing changed bank details, especially when they come by email. Always confirm changed details through a separate channel.

The largest SWIFT network in Costa Rica: Banco Davivienda (Costa Rica), S.A.

Of all banks we list for Costa Rica, Banco Davivienda (Costa Rica), S.A. has the largest number of codes. The head office uses BXBACRSJXXX.

How many codes a bank has tells you something about how it organises its payments than about its size. If not the recipient asks for a branch, the head office code BXBACRSJXXX works for a payment to Banco Davivienda (Costa Rica), S.A..