La Banque Postale SWIFT/BIC code

What PSSTFRPP means for a payment to La Banque Postale

Whether a recipient gives you PSSTFRPP or PSSTFRPPXXX, you are looking at the identical identifier for La Banque Postale in France. Banks worldwide use these codes to direct international transfers to the right institution. In practice you mostly come across it on invoices from abroad, in payment forms and in the bank details that La Banque Postale provides.

Further down you will find the practical side: money coming in from abroad, sending money abroad and how to verify a SWIFT code before you confirm a payment. The SWIFT code on its own does not identify a personal account; that is what the account number or IBAN .

SEPA payments and the La Banque Postale BIC

France is a member of the SEPA area. For a regular euro transfer from another SEPA country, the IBAN is usually enough; many banks no longer ask for the BIC.

For anything other than euros and from non-SEPA countries, PSSTFRPPXXX remains part of the payment details. If a payment form has a field for the BIC regardless, entering PSSTFRPP is fine.

Instant payments in euros have become increasingly available across SEPA – whether La Banque Postale offers them for your account is worth checking. Fees for SEPA payments are generally low, as long as no currency conversion is involved.

Changed bank details? Be careful

A common scam goes like this: you receive a request claiming that a company has new bank details and asking you to pay there from now on. A correct SWIFT code says nothing about whether the request is genuine.

Never trust a phone number from the same email that announces the change. Pressure and requests to keep it quiet are red flags. Acted too fast? Call your bank straight away and ask them to start a recall.

Recipients are targeted too: a classic trick is a buyer who pays too much followed by a request to refund the difference. A screenshot of a transfer proves nothing.

How to check PSSTFRPP before you pay

The most reliable source for a SWIFT code is the recipient’s own bank details: an invoice, a bank statement or their online banking. When the code you were given differs from PSSTFRPP or PSSTFRPPXXX, do not guess.

With a wrong code, the payment might get stuck, bounce back or cost extra, and tracing it can take weeks. Do not forget the account number: an error there is harder to undo than a wrong BIC.

Many banking apps validate the structure of IBANs and some suggest the matching BIC, but that does not prove the account belongs to the right person. More and more banks check the name against the account before you confirm – do not ignore a mismatch warning. For a first payment, many people start with a small test amount and wait for confirmation.

A note on our data

We gather SWIFT/BIC codes using public sources and update our list from time to time. It is possible that a code here is no longer current after a merger or reorganisation. Counts and locations come from our own dataset and are not confirmed by La Banque Postale.

Treat our directory on this page as a handy check, and let the details from the recipient or La Banque Postale have the final say. GoldexPay is not affiliated with La Banque Postale. Should you notice a mistake, we welcome a message.

When will the money arrive at La Banque Postale?

How fast a transfer reaches La Banque Postale depends on a few things: which currency you send, how many intermediary banks are involved, daily processing deadlines and time zones. Weekends and public holidays in the sending or receiving country can add a day or more. Extra checks on larger or unusual payments can also add some delay, even when all details are correct.

When a payment takes longer than expected, contact the sending bank for the tracking status or the UETR; with that reference banks can see where the payment is. Money transfer services often show tracking in their app showing how far the payment has got.

The bank that sent the money is able to request a trace or a recall; the receiving side usually has nothing to trace yet. On the receiving end, you can look at your account to see a slightly lower amount.

La Banque Postale: head office code versus branch codes

Our directory lists 28 SWIFT/BIC codes for La Banque Postale in 19 cities. Besides the head office code PSSTFRPPXXX, there are codes for regional offices and specialised units.

Unless the recipient tells you otherwise, use PSSTFRPPXXX. Just use a branch code when the recipient explicitly asks for it, for example on a letter or invoice.

The best way is to copy the code straight from the account holder’s statement. Codes for branches are more prone to change than PSSTFRPPXXX.

PSSTFRPP or PSSTFRPPXXX – which one to use?

The layout of every SWIFT code never changes: four characters for the institution, a two-letter country code and two for the location, sometimes followed by a branch code. In this case, the 8-character core is PSSTFRPP.

XXX at the end of PSSTFRPPXXX is not a placeholder or a mistake: it stands for the head office of La Banque Postale. Some banking apps insist on 11 characters, and then you can enter XXX after PSSTFRPP.

In practice the code is written in capitals and without spaces. Look out for the letter O and the digit 0 and I versus 1; they are easy to mix up.

Sending EUR to La Banque Postale

Most accounts at La Banque Postale are typically held in EUR, the local currency of France. When you pay money in a different currency it has to be converted at some point: by your bank, an intermediary or La Banque Postale itself. You rarely see a separate charge for that conversion – the cost sits in the rate.

Who converts the money makes a difference. Transferring the money already in EUR often prevents an extra conversion at the receiving end – as long as your own rate is good.

The rate for EUR changes throughout the day. On larger amounts, a small gap in the rate adds up quickly.

International transfers from La Banque Postale: the real cost

What you pay for an international transfer is made up of more than one component – not just the fee on your screen. Besides a fixed fee, correspondent or intermediary banks can deduct a fee, and when currencies are converted the bank often applies a rate below the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, not in the fee: many banks convert at a rate that includes a margin. A simple test: put the bank’s rate next to the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

Specialist money transfer services often offer a rate near the mid-market rate with clearer fees. GoldexPay lists transfer providers next to each other, showing what actually arrives. Using a transfer service does not mean leaving La Banque Postale: you simply pay the service from your account.

Incoming international payments to La Banque Postale

If you expect money from abroad, send the payer all details at once. Share your name as the bank knows it, your account number or IBAN, the BIC PSSTFRPPXXX and your address, which some banks require.

Certain banks also ask for the address of La Banque Postale in Paris, so keep it at hand. A typo in the IBAN is harder to fix than you might think; copy them from your banking app rather than typing.

An incoming payment will not always arrive in full. Charges on incoming payments vary from bank to bank. Make clear with the sender who covers the fees, especially for larger amounts.