SWIFT/BIC codes in India: banks starting with H

Finding a SWIFT code in India

On this page you find codes for 394 banks in India. A SWIFT code shows every bank in the chain which institution is meant to get the money.

Search for the bank you need below and click through for all codes we have and the details a transfer needs. The rest of this page covers how the codes work, the cost of transfers and the checks worth doing.

Getting paid from abroad into an account in India

A sender in another country will ask for a few details from you, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. That means: your full name exactly as it appears on the account, your IBAN or account number, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and sometimes your postal address.

The code of your bank is in the list on this page but always compare it with your own bank details. It helps to add your bank’s name and city as well, since some payment forms ask for it.

What lands in your account can be less than what was sent. Correspondent banks can take a fee, and when currencies differ, a markup on the rate applies. On invoices, state who bears the costs, so nobody is left short.

Sending INR to India

India uses the Indian Rupee, code INR. If you send another currency, the amount has to be converted somewhere along the way.

Who converts the money makes a difference: every bank has its own margin. In many cases it is cheaper if you send INR directly through a transfer service with a good rate. Rates for INR change during the day, so a quote is usually valid only briefly.

Tracking a payment to India

How quickly money arrives in India depends on several factors: the currency, how many intermediary banks are involved, daily processing deadlines and differences in time zone. Payments made after the cut-off time or just before weekends and holidays usually start a business day later.

If a transfer seems delayed, the sender should contact their own bank and ask for the status or the UETR; only the sending side can start an official trace. Keep your transfer receipt until the money has arrived – you will need it if something goes wrong.

The structure of a India SWIFT/BIC code

Each SWIFT/BIC code consists of 8 or 11 characters in a fixed order. It starts with a four-letter bank code, followed by two letters for the country and two characters for the location.

You can spot a code from India from the fifth and sixth characters: they always show the ISO country code of India. If those two letters do not match India, you are looking at a bank somewhere else.

When a code ends in XXX, it means the main office. In most cases the head office code is what you need, unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

Most SWIFT codes in India: State Bank of India

In our data, State Bank of India has the most SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in India. The head office of State Bank of India has SBININBBXXX; that is usually the right code for a transfer.

How many codes a bank has says more about how it organises its payments than about how big it is. Making a payment to State Bank of India? Go with SBININBBXXX unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

Banks in India beginning with the letter :letter

Here you see a selection: just banks in India with a name starting with :letter. The counts in the introduction still refer to the whole country, not just this letter.

Many institutions are listed under their official name, which may start with words like Bank or Banco, so the letter can differ from what you expect. The full overview for India remains available when you cannot find the bank here.

About our data and how to check a code

The best place to find the right code is paperwork issued by the bank. If the code you have does not match our list, stop and ask – contact the recipient or their bank.

This list draws on publicly available sources and is updated regularly. Banks merge, close branches and retire codes, and no directory catches every change immediately. For any payment that matters, confirm the code with the recipient’s bank. GoldexPay is a comparison site, not a bank.

Be wary of invoices containing changed bank details. Before paying, verify a change of bank details by phone.

Why a transfer to India needs a SWIFT code

Because India does not belong to SEPA, a transfer from abroad is usually sent through SWIFT. This means you always need the BIC of the recipient’s bank, together with the account number or IBAN.

Depending on the country, accounts are identified by a local account number rather than an IBAN and sometimes a local routing or branch code. Ask the recipient exactly which details their bank needs for incoming international payments – many banks give clear instructions for this. On the way to India, a transfer can go through correspondent banks that charge for their part.

Bank or transfer service for India?

The price of a payment to India has several parts – not only the fee you see. On top of a fixed fee, correspondent banks may take a cut, and when the money is converted the bank usually uses a less favourable rate than the real market rate.

The real cost is often in the rate, not in the fee – the bank builds a margin into its rate. An easy check: put the rate you get next to the mid-market rate and work out the difference on your amount.

Specialised transfer providers often use rates closer to the mid-market rate. Before your next transfer to India, it is worth comparing what arrives via GoldexPay.