SWIFT/BIC codes in Italy: banks starting with R

Italy: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

Our directory contains 3414 banks and financial institutions in Italy. A SWIFT code tells the banks handling a transfer exactly which bank should receive the money.

Each bank is listed with its own page with the head office code and if there are any, branch codes. Below the list we explain how codes from Italy are built, how to send money to Italy without overpaying and how to check a code before you pay.

Transfer times to Italy

A SWIFT payment to Italy typically takes one to a few business days. Public holidays in Italy or in the sending country can add extra days to the journey.

When a payment takes longer than expected, the sender should contact the sending bank and ask for the status or the UETR; only the sending side can start an official trace. Specialist transfer services often provide a status in their app.

Italy and the Euro

The local currency of Italy is the Euro (EUR). If you send money in a different currency, it has to be converted at some point – by your bank, a bank in between or the recipient’s bank.

Which bank converts the money matters. Compare how much EUR the recipient gets via several providers. Exchange rates move all the time, so a quote is usually valid only briefly.

Which bank in Italy has the most codes?

In our directory, Unicredit SPA has the largest number of SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in Italy. Its head office code is UNCRITM1001, which is the code to use when no branch is specified.

A large number of codes often reflects separate codes for branches, departments or services, not necessarily that the bank is the biggest in the country. Making a payment to Unicredit SPA? Use UNCRITM1001 unless a specific branch code is requested.

Banks in Italy beginning with the letter :letter

The letter filter narrows the list to banks from Italy that begin with :letter, so you can find a bank faster. The totals mentioned above always cover all banks in Italy and not only this selection.

Some banks are listed under their legal name, which may start with words like Bank or Banco, so the letter can differ from what you expect. Use the full list for Italy if you do not know how the name is spelled.

Check the code before you pay

The safest source for a SWIFT code is the recipient’s own bank details. When the code you were given differs from our list, stop and ask.

This list is compiled from publicly available sources. Still, banks merge or change codes and our data may lag behind. Treat this list as a reference rather than the last word: the bank details from the recipient come first. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site and has no link to the banks in this list.

Watch out for payment requests with a new account, especially when they come by email. A real SWIFT code says nothing about whether a request is genuine – scammers use the codes of real banks.

What the letters in a Italy BIC mean

Bank identifier codes follow the same format worldwide: eight characters, sometimes followed by three more. The first four letters identify the bank, characters five and six are the country code and the next two give the location.

In every code from Italy, characters five and six show the ISO country code of Italy. If those two letters point to another country, the code belongs to a bank somewhere else, so check again.

An 11-character code adds three characters for a branch – XXX stands for the head office. Choose a branch code just if the recipient explicitly gives you one – otherwise stick with the head office.

Getting paid from abroad into an account in Italy

A sender in another country will ask for several details about your account, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. Give them the account holder’s name, your account number or IBAN, the BIC of your bank and your address.

Look up the bank in the list on this page to check its code – your bank statement is the final word. Some banks also ask for your bank’s address.

Expect that the incoming amount is below the amount on the sender’s receipt. Charges on incoming payments differ from bank to bank; check the price list of your bank. Make clear with the sender who covers the fees.

Euro payments to Italy: is a BIC needed?

Within the SEPA zone, euro transfers to Italy use common rules and in most cases need only the IBAN. The BIC field is usually optional in that case.

The BIC does come into play for payments in other currencies and when the money comes from outside SEPA. Instant euro transfers have become widely available within SEPA – check whether your bank supports them. Provided no conversion is involved, a SEPA transfer tends to be cheap.

The cheapest way to send money to Italy

If you transfer money to Italy with a regular bank, the stated fee is rarely all of the cost. There is a transfer fee, sometimes fees from correspondent banks and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup if the money is converted.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate: banks convert at a rate with a margin built in. Check the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate, the midpoint you see on financial news sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

For a lot of currency pairs, a specialist provider turns out to be cheaper than a traditional bank transfer. GoldexPay lists these providers side by side, showing what actually arrives in Italy for the same amount sent.