Sofax Banque SWIFT/BIC code

What SFAXFRPP means for a payment to Sofax Banque

The 8-character code SFAXFRPP and the full code SFAXFRPPXXX refer to the same bank: Sofax Banque, with its head office in Courbevoie. A SWIFT code shows the sending bank exactly which bank is meant to get the money, much like a postcode for banks. You will need it mainly for transfers between countries or a currency.

This page is meant to help people who receives money at an account at Sofax Banque without mistakes. Keep in mind that the SWIFT code only identifies the bank, not the account: the account number or IBAN does that part.

What to give a sender who pays you at Sofax Banque

Someone abroad who wants to pay you needs a few details from you. The basics are: your name, IBAN or account number, SFAXFRPPXXX and, for some countries, your home address.

You can add Sofax Banque and its city as well, since some forms ask for it. A typo in your account number can be more trouble than you might think; copy them from your banking app rather than typing.

An incoming payment does not always arrive for the full amount. Intermediary banks may deduct a fee, Sofax Banque may charge for incoming payments, and if the currency changes, a markup on the rate comes on top. Make clear with the sender who covers the fees.

When will the money arrive at Sofax Banque?

There is no fixed delivery time for every transfer: many land within a day. Bank holidays in the sending or receiving country can add extra days, since banks do not process on those days. Occasionally a bank asks about the purpose of a payment.

If the money seems late, contact the sending bank about the tracking status and the transaction reference. Save your transfer receipt until the money has arrived; it contains the details a bank needs to start a trace.

Only the sending bank can start an official trace – the recipient’s bank often cannot see a payment that has not arrived. Ask the sender for a copy of the payment confirmation with the date and reference; that often settles the question quickly.

SFAXFRPP or SFAXFRPPXXX – which one to use?

The layout of every SWIFT code is always the same: a bank code of four letters, a two-letter country code and two for the location. For Sofax Banque, that core is SFAXFRPP.

XXX at the end of SFAXFRPPXXX does not stand for a placeholder or a mistake: it indicates the main office of Sofax Banque. Some forms ask for 11 characters, in which case you can enter XXX after SFAXFRPP.

In practice the code is written in capitals. Watch for O versus 0 and the letter I and the digit 1; they are easy to mix up.

Euro (EUR) and conversion costs

Accounts at Sofax Banque are typically held in EUR, the local currency of France. If you send another currency, the amount has to be converted at some point. There is rarely a separate line for that conversion – the cost sits in the rate.

Which bank converts the payment makes a difference, because each party uses its own rate. Sending the money directly in EUR usually prevents a second conversion at the receiving end.

Rates for EUR move all the time, and some providers let you lock in a rate. If you pay regularly, small differences in the rate make a real difference over time.

Paying Sofax Banque in euros within SEPA

Within the SEPA zone, euro payments to Sofax Banque follow the same rules and in most cases need only the IBAN. A field for the BIC is usually optional or missing for those payments.

The BIC still come into play when the currency is not euros and when the money comes from outside SEPA. If your banking app asks for the BIC anyway, entering SFAXFRPP is fine.

Instant payments in euros have become widely available within SEPA; check with Sofax Banque whether it applies to your account. Provided the payment stays in euros, the transfer tends to be inexpensive; it is the conversion that costs money.

Paying someone abroad from your Sofax Banque account

The price of a payment abroad is made up of more than one component. There is the fee for the transfer itself, sometimes charges from correspondent banks in between and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup if the currency changes.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee: many banks convert using an exchange rate that includes a margin. An easy check: set the rate you get against the mid-market rate and work out the difference on your amount.

For many currency pairs, a transfer service turns out to be cheaper than a traditional bank transfer. GoldexPay compares what recipients receive across services, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot. You can always use your account at Sofax Banque; only the conversion and sending happen elsewhere.

Watch out for payment fraud

One of the most common tricks goes like this: an email arrives with a request claiming that a company now has new bank details and that the next payment should go there. A correct SWIFT code says nothing about who owns the account: scammers use real codes of real banks.

Do not trust a phone number from the same email that contains the change. Pressure and secrecy tend to be warning signs – a real supplier can wait a day. When money was sent to the wrong account, contact your bank immediately.

People receiving money can be targeted as well: a classic trick is an overpayment and then sends a request to send back the difference. A payment confirmation from the sender is no proof; only your own account shows what has arrived.

How up to date is this code?

The codes here are taken from publicly available data. Even so, banks merge, rename themselves or retire codes, so information can be out of date. Counts and locations come from our directory.

Treat the information on this page as a helpful check and rely on the recipient or Sofax Banque for the final confirmation. GoldexPay is independent of Sofax Banque. If you notice something that is out of date, we appreciate a short note.

Is SFAXFRPP still correct? How to check

The most reliable source for the BIC is the bank details provided by the recipient: an invoice, a bank statement or their online banking. If the code you have differs from SFAXFRPP or SFAXFRPPXXX, do not guess.

A wrong SWIFT code can cause a delay, a payment being sent back or additional charges for investigation. An error in the account number is a bigger problem; check it just as carefully.

An automatic check in your banking app merely tells you that the code exists – not that it belongs to the person you mean to pay. Some banks now check the name against the account. A small test payment is worth it for large sums, even if it costs an extra fee.

Sofax Banque: head office code versus branch codes

Sofax Banque has 2 different SWIFT/BIC codes across 2 cities. One of them is the head office code, SFAXFRPPXXX; the rest identify branches.

Unless the recipient tells you otherwise, go with SFAXFRPPXXX. A branch code only makes sense if the recipient’s bank explicitly asks for it.

The safest route is to copy the code directly from the recipient’s bank details. Branch codes are more likely to be retired than the head office code.