SWIFT/BIC codes in Italy

Italy: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

This overview covers 3414 banks and financial institutions in Italy and 26259 SWIFT/BIC codes between them. You will need such a code mostly when making international transfers.

Select a bank below to view the head office code and any branch codes along with tips for payments to and from that bank. The rest of this page explain the structure of the codes, the cost of transfers and the checks worth doing before a payment.

Which bank in Italy has the most codes?

Unicredit SPA tops our list of Italy banks in SWIFT/BIC codes. The head office of Unicredit SPA has UNCRITM1001 and that code covers most payments.

Many codes usually means separate codes for branches, departments or services – it says nothing about the size of the bank as such. Making a payment to Unicredit SPA? Use UNCRITM1001 except when a specific branch code is requested.

Verifying a SWIFT code from Italy

The most reliable source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details. A wrong code can cause delays, a returned payment or additional charges – compare it with the code in our list.

Our SWIFT/BIC directory is based on publicly available sources that we update periodically. Institutions merge, change names and retire codes. For any payment of any size, confirm the BIC with the recipient. GoldexPay is not a bank.

Watch out for invoices with a new account. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about who owns the account: criminals use real codes too.

Banks in Italy starting with :letter

This filter narrows the list to banks from Italy that begin with :letter to make searching quicker. The figures for Italy mentioned here cover every bank we list.

If the bank you need is missing here, try the full list: banks are often registered under their full legal name. Use the full list for Italy if you do not know the exact name.

The cheapest way to send money to Italy

When you transfer money to Italy through your bank, the stated fee is only part of the cost. You pay a transfer fee, possibly fees from correspondent banks along the way and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup.

That exchange rate margin tends to be the biggest part of the cost. Compare the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate.

For a lot of currency pairs, a specialist provider turns out to be less expensive than a bank, mainly because of the rate. GoldexPay compares transfer services next to each other, showing the amount that reaches the recipient.

Italy and the SEPA area

Because Italy is part of the SEPA zone, a euro payment to a bank in Italy normally only needs an IBAN. Most banking apps no longer ask for the BIC in that case.

You will still need the BIC when sending payments in other currencies or money from outside the SEPA area. Euro payments within SEPA normally land by the next business day, and instant transfers in seconds where both banks support them. Fees are generally low as long as no currency is converted – conversion is what costs money.

The structure of a Italy SWIFT/BIC code

SWIFT/BIC codes use the same format worldwide: 8 characters plus an optional three-character extension. First comes four letters for the bank, then two letters for the country and a two-character location code.

For banks in Italy, letters five and six show the ISO country code of Italy. When those two letters do not match Italy, the code belongs to a bank somewhere else.

The long version ends in a branch code, where XXX means the head office. For most transfers the head office code is fine, unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

Italy and the Euro

Italy uses the Euro, with the currency code EUR. Money sent in a different currency will be exchanged into EUR on its way to the recipient, and whoever converts it chooses the rate.

Who converts the payment makes a difference, because each party uses its own rate. Often you pay less if you send EUR straight away through a transfer service with a good rate. On larger amounts, even a small gap in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Transfer times to Italy

There is no single delivery time for payments to Italy: some land the same day or the next while others need several business days. Payments made after the cut-off time or just before a weekend or public holiday often start the next business day.

Many banks use SWIFT gpi. Each gpi transfer gets a unique transaction reference, the UETR. Save the payment confirmation – you will need it if something goes wrong.

Getting paid from abroad into an account in Italy

To receive an international payment in Italy, the person paying you needs not just the BIC. Give them your name as registered with the bank, your account number or IBAN, your bank’s SWIFT code and your address, which some banks require.

Look up your 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. It helps to add your bank’s name and city as well because some forms have separate fields for it.

Expect that the incoming amount is smaller than the amount on the sender’s receipt. Fees for incoming transfers differ from bank to bank. On invoices, state who bears the costs.