SWIFT/BIC codes in Guam

Guam: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

For Guam our database holds 4 SWIFT/BIC codes from 4 financial institutions. You need a SWIFT/BIC code mostly for international transfers.

Each bank is listed with its own page showing the head office code and if there are any, codes for branches and departments. Below the list you can read how codes from Guam are built, how to send money to Guam at a fair price and how to check a code before you pay.

Receiving money in Guam from abroad

For an international payment into a Guam account, the person paying you needs not just the SWIFT code. Give them the account holder’s name, your account number or IBAN, your bank’s SWIFT code and your address, which some banks require.

The code of your bank appears in our list but always compare it with your own bank details. Certain banks also ask for your bank’s address; it does no harm to include it.

Expect that the incoming amount is smaller than the amount on the sender’s receipt. Correspondent banks can take a fee, your bank may charge for incoming payments, and if the money is converted, an exchange rate margin applies. Make clear with the sender who pays which costs, especially for larger amounts.

What the letters in a Guam BIC mean

Every SWIFT/BIC code consists of 8 or 11 characters. First comes a four-letter bank code, followed by two letters for the country and a two-character location code.

Whatever the bank, every code from Guam have the same country code in positions five and six. A code with other letters in that position come from a bank abroad, even if the bank name looks familiar.

The long version ends in three characters for a branch, where XXX means the head office. In most cases the head office code is fine, unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

How reliable is this list?

Ask the recipient to send you the account details directly from their online banking. An incorrect BIC can cause delays, a returned payment or additional charges – compare it with the code in our list.

We gather bank codes from publicly available data and update our list from time to time. Banks merge, change names and retire codes. Treat our data as a starting point rather than the last word: the bank details from the recipient come first. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site.

Be wary of payment requests with a new account – a common fraud method. Before paying, verify changed details by phone.

International payments to Guam and the BIC

Because Guam is outside SEPA, an international payment is usually sent through SWIFT. That means the payment always needs the SWIFT/BIC code of the recipient’s bank.

In some countries, the account is identified by a domestic account number rather than an IBAN. The recipient’s bank often provides instructions for payments from abroad – follow them exactly. SWIFT payments can pass through one or more intermediary banks.

Bank or transfer service for Guam?

The price of a payment to Guam has more than one component – not only the fee you see. Besides the fee, intermediary banks may deduct a charge, and when the money is converted the bank often uses a rate below the real market rate.

The markup on the rate is often the largest cost item. An easy check: set the offered rate against the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

For many currency pairs, a specialist provider is less expensive than a bank – mostly thanks to the exchange rate. Before you send money to Guam, it is worth comparing the total cost on GoldexPay.

Transfer times to Guam

How fast money arrives in Guam depends on several factors: the currency, the number of banks in between, cut-off times and differences in time zone. Bank holidays in either country add a day or more.

Many banks are connected to SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Every gpi transfer carries a unique transaction reference, the UETR that banks can use to see where the money is. Specialist transfer services usually show tracking online so you can follow the payment.

Which bank in Guam has the most codes?

Allied Banking Corporation tops the list of Guam banks when it comes to the number of SWIFT/BIC codes. The head office uses ABCMGUG1XXX, which is the code to use when no branch is specified.

Practice differs in whether they register branch codes – a high count is not a measure of size. Unless the recipient asks for a branch, the head office code ABCMGUG1XXX works for a payment to Allied Banking Corporation.

Paying in USD: what conversion costs you

The local currency of Guam is the US Dollar (USD). A payment in a foreign currency will be converted into USD before it reaches the account – and the bank that does it picks the rate.

Who does the conversion affects the final amount, as rates and margins differ per bank. Often it is cheaper if you send USD straight away through a transfer service with a good rate so the receiving bank does not need to convert again. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small gap in the rate adds up quickly.