SWIFT/BIC codes in Spain: banks starting with A

Bank SWIFT codes for Spain

This overview lists 581 banks and other institutions in Spain. Each code points to an institution or one of its branches.

Pick the bank from the list to see its head office code and any branch codes, plus practical notes for sending and receiving money. The sections below covers how the codes work, the cost of transfers and the checks worth doing.

Paying in EUR: what conversion costs you

The national currency in Spain is the Euro (EUR). A payment in a foreign currency is converted into EUR on its way to the recipient.

Which bank converts the money makes a difference. Often it is cheaper if you send EUR directly via a provider with a good rate so the receiving bank does not need to convert again. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small difference in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Banks in Spain starting with :letter

You are looking at a selection: only institutions in Spain with a name starting with :letter. The totals mentioned here cover all 581 banks.

Some banks are listed under their legal name, so the letter can differ from what you expect. The full overview for Spain is one click away if the letter filter does not help.

How reliable is this list?

Have the recipient send you their bank details directly from their online banking. An incorrect BIC may lead to delays, a returned payment or additional charges – compare it with the code in our list.

The directory on GoldexPay is compiled from public sources that we update periodically. Even so, banks merge, rename themselves or change codes and our data may lag behind. For any payment that matters, check the BIC with the recipient. We are an independent comparison service and not part of any bank listed here.

Watch out for payment requests with a new account. A valid BIC tells you nothing about whether a request is genuine: criminals use real codes too.

What a transfer to Spain really costs

The price of a transfer to Spain is made up of more than one component. Besides the fee, intermediary banks may deduct a charge and, if currencies are converted, the bank often applies a rate below the real market rate.

The real cost is often in the rate – the bank builds a margin into its rate. Check the bank’s rate against the mid-market rate that you find on financial sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

For a lot of currency pairs, a transfer service turns out to be less expensive than a bank, mainly because of the rate. GoldexPay compares transfer services side by side, showing the amount that reaches the recipient before you commit.

Incoming international payments in Spain

When you expect a payment from another country in Spain, give the sender everything they need in one go. Give them your name as registered with the bank, your account number or IBAN, the BIC of your bank and your address.

Look up your bank in the list on this page. It helps to add the name and city of your bank as well, since some payment forms ask for it.

Expect that the amount credited is below what the sender paid. Correspondent banks can take a fee, your bank may charge for incoming payments, and if the money is converted, an exchange rate margin comes on top. Agree with the sender who pays which costs before the money is sent.

Transfer times to Spain

How fast money reaches Spain depends on several factors: the currency, how many intermediary banks are involved, cut-off times and differences in time zone. Transfers sent after the cut-off time or on a weekend or public holiday usually go out a business day later.

Many banks use SWIFT gpi for faster and traceable payments. Every payment carries a unique reference, the UETR. Keep your transfer receipt.

Most SWIFT codes in Spain: BNP Paribas Securities Services, Spain

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

Practice differs in whether they register branch codes, so the count is not a ranking of size. Making a payment to BNP Paribas Securities Services, Spain? Go with PARBESMHXXX unless a specific branch code is requested.

How SWIFT codes from Spain are built

Every SWIFT/BIC code consists of eight or eleven characters in a fixed order. The first four letters stand for the bank, the fifth and sixth characters form the country code and characters seven and eight mark the location.

For banks in Spain, letters five and six are the two-letter ISO code of Spain, which makes these codes easy to recognise. Codes with other letters in that position belong to another country – a quick way to catch mistakes.

The last three characters, if present, stand for a specific branch; XXX means the head office. Choose a branch code just when the recipient explicitly gives you one.

Spain and the SEPA area

Since Spain is part of SEPA, a euro payment to a bank in Spain usually only needs the IBAN. Many banks no longer ask for the BIC for these payments.

The BIC does matter for payments in other currencies and for transfers from outside SEPA. Instant euro transfers have become widely available across SEPA, though not every bank offers them for every account. Fees are generally low provided no currency is converted – conversion is what costs money.