SWIFT/BIC codes in France: banks starting with X

SWIFT/BIC codes in France

For France we have 4924 SWIFT/BIC codes from 2801 banks. You need a SWIFT/BIC code mostly for payments across borders and for payments in a foreign currency.

Select the bank from the list to see its head office code and its other codes, plus practical notes for sending and receiving money. The rest of this page explain the structure of the codes, what transfers cost and the checks worth doing before you send money.

The structure of a France SWIFT/BIC code

A BIC is 8 or 11 characters long and follows a fixed pattern. Characters one to four identify the bank, characters five and six form the country code and the next two mark the location.

You can spot a code from France from letters five and six – those always form the country code of France. Codes with a different country code come from another country, even if the bank name looks familiar.

The last three characters, if present, identify a specific branch; XXX is used for the head office. For most transfers the head office code is what you need unless the recipient asks for a specific branch.

Banks in France starting with :letter

This list only shows banks in France whose name starts with :letter, sorted alphabetically. The totals mentioned above always refer to the whole country, not just this letter.

Some banks appear under their legal name, which may start with words like Bank or Banco, so the letter can differ from what you expect. The full overview for France is available when the letter filter does not help.

Verifying a SWIFT code from France

The most reliable source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. If the code you have does not match our list, do not guess: check with the recipient or the bank.

We collect bank codes from publicly available data and check our list from time to time. Banks reorganise, close branches and change codes, and no directory catches every change immediately. Treat our data as a reference, not as the final word. We are an independent comparison service for money transfers, not a bank.

Fraudsters often send payment requests with new bank details from what looks like a familiar address. A valid BIC says nothing about who owns the account: criminals use real codes too.

Incoming international payments in France

When you expect a payment from another country on an account in France, send the payer all details at once. That means: your name exactly as it appears on the account, your account number or IBAN, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and, often, your postal address.

Look up the bank in the list above and compare the code with your own bank details, but take the code from your own bank details when in doubt. Some sending banks may also ask for the name and address of your bank, so keep it at hand.

The amount you receive can be lower than the amount sent. Intermediary banks may deduct a fee and your own bank may charge for processing, and if the money is converted, an exchange rate margin applies. For business payments, state how the fees are split.

The Euro (EUR) and conversion costs

France pays in the Euro, code EUR. If you send another currency, it gets converted somewhere along the way: by your bank, an intermediary or the receiving bank.

Who converts the money makes a difference: every bank has its own margin. Check how much EUR arrives with different providers; the difference between options can be larger than you expect. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small gap in the rate adds up quickly.

Sending money to France for less

What you pay for a transfer to France is made up of several parts, and the fee on your screen is only one of them. On top of the fee, intermediary banks may deduct a charge and, if currencies are converted, the bank usually uses a less favourable rate than the actual market rate.

The markup on the rate is often the largest part of the cost because it is hidden in the rate. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate.

For a lot of routes, a transfer service turns out to be cheaper than a bank, mainly because of the rate. Before your next transfer to France, take a minute comparing the total cost via GoldexPay instead of going straight to your bank.

Paying in euros to France

Because France is in SEPA, a euro payment to an account in France usually only needs the IBAN. Many banks do not require the BIC for these payments.

A SWIFT code does come into play when the currency is not euros and when the money comes from outside SEPA. Euro payments within SEPA normally land by the next business day or faster with instant payments. Costs stay low as long as everything stays in euros; the conversion is where it gets expensive.

Tracking a payment to France

How fast money reaches France depends on a few things: which currency you send, the number of banks in between, daily processing deadlines and differences in time zone. Transfers sent late in the day or on a weekend or public holiday usually go out a business day later.

If the money seems delayed, ask the sender to contact the sending bank. Money transfer services usually provide a status online so you can follow the payment.

Credit Agricole and its SWIFT codes

In our data, Credit Agricole has the largest number of SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in France. The head office of Credit Agricole has AGRIFRPP802; that is usually the right code for a transfer.

How many codes a bank has tells you more about how it organises its payments than about how big it is. Unless a branch code is given, the head office code AGRIFRPP802 works for transfers to this bank.