Bank For Housing and Construction SWIFT/BIC code

Bank For Housing and Construction SWIFT code: HCONGHA1

The short code HCONGHA1 and the full code HCONGHA1XXX refer to one and the same institution: Bank For Housing and Construction, with its head office in Accra. Banks worldwide use these codes to direct payments between countries to the right institution. It comes up mainly for payments that cross a border and payments in foreign currencies.

This page is meant to help people who sends money to an account at Bank For Housing and Construction and wants to get the details right. Remember that the BIC just identifies the bank, not the person: the account number or IBAN does that part.

Incoming international payments to Bank For Housing and Construction

For a transfer from abroad at Bank For Housing and Construction, the sender has to have not just the BIC. Share the account holder’s name, your account number or IBAN, SWIFT code HCONGHA1XXX and your address.

Their bank might also ask for the bank address of Bank For Housing and Construction. A mistake in your account number is more trouble than it looks, so copy the details from your online banking.

What lands in your account can be less than the amount sent. Correspondent banks can take a fee, Bank For Housing and Construction may charge for incoming payments, and if the currency changes, a markup on the rate applies. For business payments, you can agree how the fees are split.

When will the money arrive at Bank For Housing and Construction?

How quickly a transfer reaches Bank For Housing and Construction depends on several factors: the currency, 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 to the journey. Extra checks by one of the banks may also cause some delay, even when all details are correct.

A growing number of banks are connected to SWIFT gpi for faster and traceable payments. Each gpi transfer carries a unique transaction reference, the UETR, which your bank can use to see where the money is. Specialist transfer services usually provide a status online so you can see where the money has got.

The bank that sent the money can request a trace – the recipient’s bank often cannot see a payment that has not arrived. Ask the sender for a copy of the payment confirmation including the reference.

Where our SWIFT data comes from

The codes here come from publicly available data that we update regularly. It can happen that a code here is out of date after a merger or reorganisation. The figures on this page reflect our own data and not on information from Bank For Housing and Construction itself.

Use our data as a starting point, not as the last word. GoldexPay is independent of Bank For Housing and Construction. Spotted an error? Let us know via our contact form so we can correct it.

HCONGHA1 or HCONGHA1XXX – which one to use?

The structure of a BIC is always the same: a bank code of four letters, two for the country and two for the location. That gives you HCONGHA1 for Bank For Housing and Construction.

The 11-character version adds a three-character extension for a branch or department. If the last three are XXX, they simply mean the head office.

In practice the code is written in capitals and without spaces. Watch for O versus 0 or the letter I and the digit 1, a common source of typos.

Watch out for payment fraud

Criminals often send payment requests with new bank details. A correct SWIFT code tells you nothing about whether the request is genuine.

Before paying, verify a change of bank details through a phone call on a number you know, not one from the message. Pressure or requests to keep it quiet tend to be red flags; a genuine business can wait for you to check. Already paid? Contact your bank without delay and ask them to try to recall the payment.

Fraud also target the receiver: someone sends more than agreed and wants you to refund the extra via a different route. Wait until the money is actually in your account.

Bank For Housing and Construction: head office code versus branch codes

Bank For Housing and Construction has 2 separate SWIFT/BIC codes across 1 locations. One of them is the head office code, HCONGHA1XXX; the others belong to branches or departments.

Unless the recipient tells you otherwise, use HCONGHA1XXX. A branch code only makes sense when the account holder explicitly mentions it.

Not sure which code applies? Ask the recipient. Branch codes can change over time.

How to check HCONGHA1 before you pay

The safest source for the BIC is the bank details provided by the recipient: an invoice, a bank statement or their online banking. When the code you were given does not match HCONGHA1 or HCONGHA1XXX, stop and ask.

With a wrong code, the transfer might get stuck, bounce back or cost extra. Do not forget the IBAN: a mistake there is more difficult to correct than a wrong code.

Many banking apps check the format of IBANs and some suggest the matching BIC – that confirms the format, not the owner. Some banks now check the name against the account before you confirm. A small test payment can be a sensible step for large sums despite the extra fee.

What a transfer from Bank For Housing and Construction abroad really costs

An international bank payment can cost more than the fee suggests. Besides the transfer fee, correspondent or intermediary banks may deduct a fee, and if the money changes currency, the bank often uses a rate that is less favourable than the actual market rate.

That exchange rate margin is often the biggest item because it is hidden in the rate. An easy check: put the bank’s rate next to the mid-market rate for the same moment and look at the difference.

For many currency pairs, a transfer service turns out to be cheaper than a bank – mostly thanks to the rate. GoldexPay lists transfer providers next to each other so you can see what actually arrives before you commit. Choosing a specialist does not mean leaving Bank For Housing and Construction – you pay the provider from your own account.