BNP Paribas Johannesburg SWIFT/BIC code

BNPAZAJJ – the SWIFT/BIC code of BNP Paribas Johannesburg

The 8-character code BNPAZAJJ and the 11-character code BNPAZAJJXXX refer to the same bank: BNP Paribas Johannesburg, with its head office in Melrose Arch. Banks worldwide use these codes to direct payments between countries to the right institution. You will need it mostly for transfers between countries and payments in foreign currencies.

Below we go through the practical side: receiving money at BNP Paribas Johannesburg, sending money abroad and how to check the code before you confirm a payment. A SWIFT code identifies an institution, not a single account.

Getting paid from abroad into a BNP Paribas Johannesburg account

For a transfer from abroad into your account at BNP Paribas Johannesburg, the sender needs not just the SWIFT code. Share your name as the bank knows it, the IBAN or account number, the BIC BNPAZAJJXXX and your address, which some banks require.

The sender’s bank might request the address of your bank; the head office in Melrose Arch is usually fine. A typo in the IBAN is harder to fix than you might think, so copy the details from your online banking.

What lands in your account is often lower than what was sent. Fees for incoming transfers differ per bank; check the price list of BNP Paribas Johannesburg. Agree with the sender who covers the fees.

Where our SWIFT data comes from

We gather SWIFT/BIC codes from publicly available data and check them regularly. Banks merge, close branches and change codes. The figures we show are based on what is in our directory.

Use our data as a starting point, rather than as the final word – the bank details from the recipient are leading. GoldexPay is an independent comparison service and not part of BNP Paribas Johannesburg. Found outdated information? Let us know through the contact page so we can correct it.

8 or 11 characters: BNPAZAJJ versus BNPAZAJJXXX

The layout of every SWIFT code is always the same: four characters for the institution, a two-letter country code and a two-character location code, plus an optional branch code. In this case, the 8-character core is BNPAZAJJ.

XXX at the end of BNPAZAJJXXX does not stand for a missing value or a mistake: it indicates the head office of BNP Paribas Johannesburg. Certain payment forms ask for 11 characters, and then you simply add XXX after BNPAZAJJ.

Type the code as one block, in capitals and without spaces, exactly as shown here. A single character can send a payment to a different institution, so copy it carefully.

Before you send: check the BNP Paribas Johannesburg code

The most reliable source for the BIC is the bank details provided by the recipient – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. If the code you have differs from BNPAZAJJ or BNPAZAJJXXX, stop and ask – contact the recipient or BNP Paribas Johannesburg.

An incorrect BIC may lead to delays, a payment being sent back or additional charges. Remember the IBAN: a mistake there can be more difficult to correct than a wrong code.

A validity check by your bank only tells you that the IBAN is valid. If your bank offers it, a name check before sending adds extra certainty. A small test payment is a sensible step for a large first payment, even if it costs an extra fee.

Tracking a transfer to or from BNP Paribas Johannesburg

There is no single answer for every transfer: many arrive the same day or the next, others take several business days. Weekends and public holidays in either country add extra days, since banks do not process on those days. Sometimes a bank wants to know about the purpose of a payment before releasing it.

When a payment takes longer than expected, contact the sending bank about the tracking status; with that reference banks can see where the payment is. Save the payment confirmation – you will need it for any trace request.

A delayed transfer is traced by the sending bank on the basis of the transfer details. As a recipient, it helps to look at your statements for a slightly lower amount because fees can reduce the amount.

Head office or branch code at BNP Paribas Johannesburg?

Having 2 codes, BNP Paribas Johannesburg is one of the banks that use separate codes for parts of the organisation and departments. The main code remains BNPAZAJJXXX.

For most incoming transfers, the head office code BNPAZAJJXXX works fine. If you have been given a specific code, use it as it is instead of swapping it with the head office code.

The safest approach is to take the code straight from the account holder’s bank details. Branch codes are more likely to be retired than BNPAZAJJXXX when a bank merges or closes offices.

The South African Rand and what conversion costs you

The local currency in South Africa is the South African Rand (ZAR). If you send another currency, the amount has to be converted somewhere along the way: by your bank, an intermediary or BNP Paribas Johannesburg itself. You rarely see a separate charge for the conversion – the cost sits in the rate.

Who converts the money makes a difference: every bank has its own margin. Sending the money directly in ZAR often avoids an extra conversion at the receiving end – as long as your own rate is good.

The rate for ZAR fluctuates throughout the day, so the amount you see is usually only valid for a short time. With bigger transfers, a small difference in the rate adds up quickly.

Sending money abroad from BNP Paribas Johannesburg

What you pay for a payment abroad has more than one component. You pay the transfer fee, possibly charges from correspondent banks in between and, above all, the margin on the exchange rate when the money is converted.

Banks do not list the margin on the rate separately – you only notice it if you compare. Compare their rate with the mid-market rate – the rate you find on financial news sites. The difference is your real conversion cost.

For a lot of currency pairs, a transfer service turns out to be cheaper than a bank – mostly thanks to the rate. Before your next transfer, take a minute comparing the total cost on GoldexPay instead of going straight to your bank. You can always keep your account at BNP Paribas Johannesburg; only the conversion and sending happen elsewhere.

Watch out for payment fraud

Be alert if a contact unexpectedly wants you to send money to another account. A real SWIFT code says nothing about who owns the account: scammers use real codes of real banks.

Never trust contact details in the same message that announces the change. Watch out for urgent requests, unusual wording or an email address that differs by one letter. Already paid? Call your bank straight away and ask them to try to recall the payment.

Scams can also work the other way. Someone claims to have sent more than agreed and wants you to refund the difference via a different route. A screenshot of a transfer is no proof; only your own account shows what has arrived.