Bank of The Philippine Islands SWIFT/BIC code

Bank of The Philippine Islands SWIFT code: BOPIPHMM

Whether you are given BOPIPHMM or BOPIPHMMXXX, it is the same address for Bank of The Philippine Islands in Philippines. The code does one job: it ensures that a cross-border transfer reaches the right bank. In daily life you usually see the code on international invoices, in payment forms and in the bank details of Bank of The Philippine Islands customers.

Below you will find the practical questions: receiving money at Bank of The Philippine Islands, sending money abroad and how to verify a SWIFT code before you hit send. Remember that the BIC just identifies the bank, not the person: the IBAN or account number takes care of that.

How to check BOPIPHMM before you pay

The safest source for a SWIFT code is the bank details provided by the recipient – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. Check that code against BOPIPHMM here; if they differ, ask before you pay.

Mistakes in the SWIFT code are costly rather than disastrous. An error in the account number is more serious; check it just as carefully.

A validity check by your bank merely confirms that the code is valid – not that it belongs to the person you mean to pay. If your bank offers it, a payee name check on the recipient gives extra certainty. Sending a small amount first is a sensible step for a large first payment.

What a transfer from Bank of The Philippine Islands abroad really costs

An international bank payment costs more than the fee suggests. On top of a fixed fee, banks in between may deduct a fee, and if currencies are converted, the bank often applies a rate that is less favourable than the actual market rate.

The real cost is often in the rate, rather than in the fee: many banks convert using an exchange rate with a margin built in. An easy check: put the bank’s rate next to the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

For many routes, a transfer service is less expensive than a bank. On GoldexPay we compare the amount that arrives across services. Choosing a specialist does not mean closing your account at Bank of The Philippine Islands – you pay the provider from your own account.

Choosing between the 2 SWIFT codes of Bank of The Philippine Islands

We have 2 SWIFT/BIC codes for Bank of The Philippine Islands, spread over 1 locations. Next to the head office code BOPIPHMMXXX, you will find codes for regional offices and specialised units.

In most cases you do not need to pick a branch: payments sent to BOPIPHMMXXX are routed within Bank of The Philippine Islands without problems. Just use a branch code when the account holder gives you that exact code, for example on an invoice or in their bank details.

The best way is to copy the code straight from the recipient’s bank details. Branch codes are more likely to change than BOPIPHMMXXX when a bank merges or closes offices.

Getting paid from abroad into a Bank of The Philippine Islands account

A sender in another country will ask for several details from you, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. Give them your name as the bank knows it, the IBAN or account number, SWIFT code BOPIPHMMXXX and your address.

Some sending banks want the address of Bank of The Philippine Islands, so keep it at hand. Double-check each detail before you send them – a sender rarely spots a mistake in someone else’s details.

The amount you receive can be lower than the amount sent. Fees for incoming transfers vary from bank to bank – the price list of Bank of The Philippine Islands tells you what applies. For business payments, it is common to state who bears the costs to avoid a shortfall.

Sending PHP to Bank of The Philippine Islands

Philippines pays in the Philippine Peso (PHP). When you pay money in a different currency it has to be converted somewhere along the way – by your bank, by Bank of The Philippine Islands or by a bank in between. Each conversion eats into the amount, even when no fee is shown.

Who does the conversion has an effect on the final amount, since every bank sets its own rate. Check what PHP the recipient gets with several providers before choosing one.

The PHP rate changes throughout the day, so the amount you see is usually only valid for a short time. On larger amounts, even small difference in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

BOPIPHMM or BOPIPHMMXXX – which one to use?

Every SWIFT/BIC code has the same eight core characters: a four-letter bank code, a two-letter country code and a two-character location code. For Bank of The Philippine Islands, the 8-character core is BOPIPHMM.

Most payment forms work with either length. If a form asks for eleven characters, enter BOPIPHMMXXX, otherwise BOPIPHMM is fine.

As a rule the code is typed in capitals. Watch for O versus 0 and the letter I and the digit 1.

Where our SWIFT data comes from

The details here are taken from public sources which we refresh regularly. It is possible that information on this page is no longer current, for example after a merger. Counts and locations come from our directory and are not confirmed by Bank of The Philippine Islands.

Use our data as a reference, rather than as the last word. GoldexPay is an independent comparison service for money transfers and not part of Bank of The Philippine Islands. Should you notice a mistake, we welcome a message via the contact page.

How long does an international transfer to Bank of The Philippine Islands take?

How fast a transfer reaches Bank of The Philippine Islands is determined by a few things: which currency you send, the number of banks in between, cut-off times and differences in time zone. Transfers sent after the cut-off time or just before a weekend or public holiday often go out a business day later. Compliance checks by one of the banks may also cause some delay, even when all details are correct.

If the money seems delayed, contact the sending bank about the tracking status and the transaction reference. Keep your transfer receipt until the recipient confirms; it contains the details a bank needs to start a trace.

If a payment has not arrived after a few business days, the person who paid should start with the bank that sent it, not the receiving bank. Ask the sender for the payment receipt including the reference.

Watch out for payment fraud

Stay wary if someone unexpectedly wants you to send money to a different account or a bank in another country. A real SWIFT code says nothing about whether the request is genuine – scammers simply use real codes.

Do not rely on contact details in the same message that announces the new account. Urgency and requests to keep it quiet tend to be warning signs. Already paid? Call your bank straight away and ask them to start a recall; also report it to the police.

Recipients are targeted too: one known trick is a buyer who pays too much and then sends a request to refund the difference to another account. Do not act before the money has really arrived and check with Bank of The Philippine Islands if anything seems off.