SWIFT/BIC codes in Solomon Islands

SWIFT/BIC codes in Solomon Islands

Our directory lists 6 banks and financial institutions in Solomon Islands. You will need a SWIFT/BIC code mostly for payments across borders and for payments in a foreign currency.

Select a bank below to view the head office code and its other codes, plus practical notes for sending and receiving money. The rest of this page explain how the codes work, what transfers cost and the checks worth doing.

About our data and how to check a code

Have the recipient copy the account details directly from their online banking. When the code you were given does not match our list, stop and ask – contact the recipient or their bank.

We gather SWIFT/BIC codes from public sources and update them regularly. Even so, banks merge, rename themselves or change codes. Before any payment of any size, check the code with the recipient’s bank. GoldexPay is a comparison service.

Watch out for payment requests containing changed bank details – a common fraud method. A valid BIC tells you nothing about who owns the account – scammers use the codes of real banks.

The cheapest way to send money to Solomon Islands

A bank transfer to Solomon Islands often costs rather more than you think. Besides the fee, correspondent banks can take a cut and, if currencies are converted, the bank often uses a rate below the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee – the bank builds a margin into its rate. A simple test: put the rate you get against the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

Specialist money transfer services frequently offer a rate near the mid-market rate. Before you send money to Solomon Islands, take a minute to compare what arrives via GoldexPay instead of going straight to your bank.

Paying a bank in Solomon Islands from abroad

Because Solomon Islands is outside SEPA, an international payment normally goes through SWIFT. This means the payment always needs the SWIFT/BIC code of the receiving bank, together with the account number or IBAN.

In some countries, the account is identified by a domestic account number rather than an IBAN and sometimes a local routing or branch code. The receiving bank often has a list of required details for payments from abroad, and it is worth following them to the letter. International transfers sometimes go via correspondent banks, each of which may deduct a fee.

Recognising a SWIFT code from Solomon Islands

A BIC is either 8 or 11 characters long and follows a fixed pattern. It starts with a four-letter bank code, then a two-letter country code and a two-character location code.

You can recognise a code from Solomon Islands by the fifth and sixth characters – those always form the country code of Solomon Islands. If the country letters do not match Solomon Islands, you are looking at a bank somewhere else, so check again.

When a code ends in XXX, it refers to the head office and the short version works just as well. Choose a branch code just when the recipient explicitly gives you one – otherwise stick with the head office.

How long does a transfer to Solomon Islands take?

How quickly a payment arrives in Solomon Islands depends on a few things: the currency, the number of banks in between, cut-off times and time zones. Payments made late in the day or just before a weekend or public holiday usually go out the next business day.

Many banks are connected to SWIFT gpi. Every payment carries a unique transaction reference, the UETR, which the sending bank can use to trace it. Specialist transfer services often show a status online, which makes it easier to see where the money is.

What a sender needs to pay you in Solomon Islands

A sender in another country needs a few details from you, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. That means: your full name as your bank knows it, your IBAN or account number, the SWIFT/BIC code of your bank and, often, your address.

Find your bank in the list above, but take the code from your own bank details when in doubt. It helps to include the name and city of your bank, since some payment forms ask for it.

Do not be surprised if the amount credited is smaller than what the sender paid. Fees for incoming transfers vary from bank to bank – your bank’s price list tells you what applies. Agree with the sender who covers the fees before the money is sent.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited and its SWIFT codes

In our directory, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited has the largest number of SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in Solomon Islands. The head office uses ANZBSBSBXXX – the code most transfers need.

Banks differ in how many codes they register – a high count is not a measure of size. Making a payment to Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited? Go with ANZBSBSBXXX unless a specific branch code is requested.