SWIFT/BIC codes in Finland

SWIFT/BIC codes in Finland

This directory lists 569 banks and other institutions in Finland. Each code identifies a bank or one of its branches, so a payment from abroad reaches the right place.

Pick a bank below to see its head office code and its other codes, plus practical notes for sending and receiving money. Further down you can read how codes from Finland are built, how to send money to Finland at a fair price and what to check before you pay.

Finland and the Euro

The national currency of Finland is the Euro (EUR). A payment in a foreign currency is exchanged into EUR before it reaches the account – and the bank that does it picks the rate.

Who does the conversion has an effect on how much arrives, since every bank sets its own rate. Often it is cheaper to send EUR directly via a transfer service that converts near the mid-market rate so the receiving bank does not need to convert again. Exchange rates change during the day.

Transfer times to Finland

How fast money reaches Finland depends on a few things: the currency, the number of banks in between, cut-off times and time zones. Transfers sent after the cut-off time or just before a weekend or public holiday usually go out a business day later.

Many banks are connected to SWIFT gpi. Each gpi transfer gets a unique transaction reference, the UETR, which the sending bank can use to trace it. Specialist transfer services usually provide tracking in their app.

SEPA transfers to Finland

Within the SEPA zone, euro transfers to Finland use the same rules. A field for the BIC is often optional in that case.

The BIC still matter for payments in other currencies. Instant payments in euros are increasingly supported within SEPA – check whether your bank supports them. Costs stay low provided everything stays in euros; the conversion is where it gets expensive.

How reliable is this list?

The safest source for the BIC is the bank details provided by the recipient. A wrong code can cause a delay, a returned payment or extra fees – compare it with the code in our list.

We collect SWIFT/BIC codes from publicly available data and update them regularly. Banks merge, change names and retire codes, and no directory catches every change immediately. Treat this list as a starting point rather than the last word: the bank details from the recipient come first. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site, not a bank.

Fraudsters regularly send payment requests with new bank details. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about who owns the account – scammers use the codes of real banks.

Which bank in Finland has the most codes?

Of all banks in Finland, Suomen Pankki - Finlands Bank has the largest number of codes. Its main office uses SPFBFIHHXXX.

Practice differs in whether they register branch codes. Unless a branch code is given, the head office code SPFBFIHHXXX works for transfers to this bank.

What a sender needs to pay you in Finland

Someone abroad who wants to pay you will ask for several details about your account – incomplete details often cause delays. That means: your name exactly as it appears on the account, your account number or IBAN, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and sometimes your address.

Look up the bank in the list on this page and compare the code with your own bank details – your bank statement is the final word. It helps to add your bank’s name and city.

Do not be surprised if the amount credited is below what the sender paid. Fees for incoming transfers vary per bank; check the price list of your bank. For business payments, state who bears the costs.

The structure of a Finland SWIFT/BIC code

Bank identifier codes use one international format: 8 characters, sometimes followed by three more. The first four letters identify the bank, the fifth and sixth characters form the country code and characters seven and eight mark the location.

In every code from Finland, letters five and six are the ISO country code of Finland, which makes these codes easy to recognise. A code with other letters in that position belong to a bank abroad, even if the bank name looks familiar.

The long version adds three characters for a branch. Choose a branch code just if the recipient explicitly gives you one.

The cheapest way to send money to Finland

A bank transfer to Finland can cost rather more than the fee suggests. There is the 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 biggest part of the cost because it is hidden in the rate. Check the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate, the midpoint you see on financial news sites. The difference is your real cost.

For many routes, a transfer service is less expensive than a bank, mainly because of the rate. GoldexPay lists transfer services next to each other so you can see what actually arrives in Finland before you commit.