Banco Comercial Portugues SWIFT/BIC code

SWIFT/BIC code of Banco Comercial Portugues

Whether a recipient gives you BCOMPTPL or BCOMPTPLXXX, it is the identical address for Banco Comercial Portugues in Portugal. A BIC has a single purpose: it ensures that an international payment ends up at the right bank. In daily life you mostly see it on invoices from abroad, in payment forms and on the account details of Banco Comercial Portugues customers.

We wrote this page to help anyone who receives money at an account at Banco Comercial Portugues and wants to get the details right. Remember that the SWIFT code just identifies the bank, not the person: the account number or IBAN takes care of that.

Changed bank details? Be careful

Scammers often use payment requests with new bank details. A valid SWIFT code tells you nothing about whether the request is genuine.

Never trust contact details in the same message that announces the new account. Urgency and secrecy are warning signs; a genuine business can wait for you to check. Acted too fast? Contact your bank without delay and have them try to recall the payment.

Scams can also target the receiver: someone claims to have sent more than agreed and asks you to return the difference to a new account. Wait until the money has really arrived.

Which of the 14 codes of Banco Comercial Portugues do you need?

With 14 codes in 4 cities, Banco Comercial Portugues is one of the banks that register separate codes for branches. The main code is BCOMPTPLXXX.

If nobody asks you for a branch code, use BCOMPTPLXXX or its short form BCOMPTPL. Just use a branch code when the recipient gives you that exact code, for example on an invoice or in their bank details.

If you are not sure, check with the recipient which code their bank gave them. Branch codes can change when banks reorganise, so a code from an old document is not always valid.

Tracking a transfer to or from Banco Comercial Portugues

There is no single answer for international payments: some land the same day or the next, others take several business days. Weekends and public holidays in either country add a day or more to the journey. Compliance checks by one of the banks may also cause some delay.

A growing number of banks use SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Each payment gets a unique transaction reference, the UETR. Keep your transfer receipt until the money has arrived; it contains the details a bank needs to start a trace.

A missing payment is investigated by the sending bank. Ask the sender for the payment receipt; that often settles the question quickly.

Sending EUR to Banco Comercial Portugues

Portugal uses the Euro. Money sent in a different currency is exchanged into EUR on its way to Banco Comercial Portugues – and the bank that does it picks the rate. You rarely see a separate line for that conversion; it is built into the rate.

Who converts the payment makes a difference: every bank has its own margin. Transferring the money directly in EUR usually prevents an extra conversion at the receiving end – as long as your own rate is good.

The rate for EUR fluctuates constantly. If you pay regularly, small differences in the rate make a real difference over a year.

SEPA payments and the Banco Comercial Portugues BIC

Inside SEPA, euro transfers to Banco Comercial Portugues use the same rules and in most cases need only the IBAN. The BIC field is usually optional or missing for those payments.

You still need BCOMPTPLXXX for payments in other currencies or transfers from countries outside SEPA. If a payment form has a field for the BIC regardless, adding BCOMPTPL is fine.

Instant payments in euros have become widely supported within SEPA; check with Banco Comercial Portugues whether it applies to your account. Provided the payment stays in euros, a SEPA transfer tends to be cheap.

8 or 11 characters: BCOMPTPL versus BCOMPTPLXXX

The structure of every SWIFT code never changes: four characters for the institution, a two-letter country code and two for the location, plus an optional branch code. Combined, these eight characters make up BCOMPTPL.

Many payment forms work with either length. If yours asks for eleven characters, enter BCOMPTPLXXX.

Enter the code in one piece, in upper case and without spaces, exactly as shown here. Watch for O versus 0 or I versus 1; they are easy to mix up.

How to check BCOMPTPL before you pay

The safest source for a SWIFT code is the recipient’s own bank details – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. If the code you have differs from BCOMPTPL or BCOMPTPLXXX, do not guess – contact the recipient or Banco Comercial Portugues.

With a wrong code, the payment may get stuck, bounce back or cost extra – sometimes after weeks of searching. A mistake in the account number can be a bigger problem; check it just as carefully.

A format check in your banking app only tells you that the code exists, not that it is the right account. Where available, a name check before sending gives an extra layer of safety. A small test payment is a sensible step for large sums.

Sending money abroad from Banco Comercial Portugues

If you send money to another country via Banco Comercial Portugues, the fee you see is only part of the cost. On top of the transfer fee, banks in between may deduct a fee, and when currencies are converted, the bank often applies a rate that is less favourable than the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate: the bank converts at a rate that includes a margin. A simple test: put the bank’s rate against the mid-market rate for the same moment and look at the difference.

Specialised transfer providers often use rates closer to the mid-market rate. GoldexPay lists transfer providers side by side so you can see what actually arrives for the same amount sent. Choosing a specialist does not require closing your account at Banco Comercial Portugues.

About this information

The codes on this page come from public sources. Institutions merge, close branches and change codes – a directory can be a step behind. The number of codes we show reflect our own data.

For a payment that matters, check the BIC with the recipient’s bank or with the recipient. GoldexPay is an independent comparison service and not part of Banco Comercial Portugues. Found outdated information? Tell us through the contact page and we will look into it.

Incoming international payments to Banco Comercial Portugues

For an international payment at Banco Comercial Portugues, the person paying you has to have more than the BIC. Give them your name as the bank knows it, the IBAN or account number, the BIC BCOMPTPLXXX and your address, which some banks require.

Some sending banks want the name and address of Banco Comercial Portugues. A typo in the IBAN can be more trouble than you might think; copy them from your banking app rather than typing.

What lands in your account is often less than the amount sent. Charges on incoming payments vary from bank to bank; check the price list of Banco Comercial Portugues. Make clear with the sender who pays which costs, especially for larger amounts.