SWIFT/BIC codes in Luxembourg

Luxembourg: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

On this page you find the SWIFT/BIC codes of 494 banks in Luxembourg – 1051 codes altogether. A BIC tells every bank in the chain which institution is meant to get an international payment.

Each bank has its own page with its main code and, where available, codes for branches and departments. The rest of this page covers the structure of the codes, the cost of transfers and how to avoid mistakes before you send money.

How long does a transfer to Luxembourg take?

A SWIFT payment to Luxembourg typically needs anywhere from one to several business days – it depends on currency, route and the banks in between. Bank holidays in Luxembourg or in the sending country add a day or more to the journey.

When a payment takes longer than expected, the sender should contact their own bank for a trace – the receiving bank often cannot see a payment that has not arrived. Save your transfer receipt.

Incoming international payments in Luxembourg

For a transfer from abroad in Luxembourg, the sender has to have more than the SWIFT code. Give them the account holder’s name, the IBAN or account number, the BIC of your bank and your address, which some banks require.

Find your bank in the list on this page to check its code, but take the code from your own bank details when in doubt. Some banks also want the name and address of your bank; it does no harm to include it.

What lands in your account can be lower than what was sent. Correspondent banks can take a fee, and if the money is converted, an exchange rate margin comes on top. For business payments, agree who bears the costs.

Which bank in Luxembourg has the most codes?

In our data, BNP Paribas Securities Services holds the largest number of SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in Luxembourg. The head office uses PARBLU21XXX, which is the code to use when no branch is specified.

Many codes usually reflects separate codes for branches, departments or services, not necessarily that the bank is the biggest in the country. Paying someone at BNP Paribas Securities Services? Use PARBLU21XXX except when the recipient gives you a branch code.

Luxembourg and the Euro

The currency in Luxembourg is the Euro (EUR). A payment in a foreign currency will be exchanged into EUR before it reaches the account – and the bank that does it picks the rate.

Which bank converts the payment matters. Often it is cheaper if you send EUR straight away via a transfer service that converts near the mid-market rate. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small gap in the rate adds up quickly.

The cheapest way to send money to Luxembourg

If you send money to Luxembourg via a regular bank, the stated fee is rarely all of what you pay. There is the transfer fee, sometimes fees from correspondent banks along the way and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup.

The markup on the rate is often the biggest part of the cost. Check the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate that you find on financial sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

For many routes, a specialist provider turns out to be cheaper than a bank, mainly because of the rate. GoldexPay compares these providers next to each other, showing what actually arrives in Luxembourg.

How SWIFT codes from Luxembourg are built

Each SWIFT/BIC code consists of eight or eleven characters. The first four letters identify the bank, characters five and six form the country code and characters seven and eight give the location.

In every code from Luxembourg, characters five and six are the two-letter ISO code of Luxembourg. When those two letters do not match Luxembourg, you are looking at a bank in another country.

The last three characters, if present, identify a branch or department; XXX means the head office. Choose a branch code just when the recipient’s bank asks for it – otherwise stick with the head office.

SEPA transfers to Luxembourg

Within the SEPA zone, euro transfers to Luxembourg use the same rules and in most cases need only the IBAN. A field for the BIC is often optional in that case.

You will still need a SWIFT code for non-euro payments or money from outside the SEPA area. Instant euro transfers are widely supported within SEPA – check whether your bank supports them. Provided the payment stays in euros, the transfer is usually inexpensive.

About our data and how to check a code

Have the recipient copy their bank details directly from their banking app. An incorrect BIC can cause a delay, a returned payment or extra fees.

We collect SWIFT/BIC codes from publicly available data and update them from time to time. Still, banks merge or retire codes, so information can be out of date. For any payment of any size, check the code with the recipient. GoldexPay is not a bank.

Watch out for invoices containing a new account. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about whether a request is genuine: criminals use real codes too.