SWIFT/BIC codes in Spain: banks starting with N

Spain: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

This overview covers 581 banks and financial institutions in Spain. You need a SWIFT/BIC code mostly for payments across borders, and especially for payments in foreign currencies.

Pick the bank below to see its head office code and any branch codes, plus practical notes for sending and receiving money. The sections below explain how the codes work, what transfers cost and the checks worth doing before you send money.

Which bank in Spain has the most codes?

Of all banks we list for Spain, BNP Paribas Securities Services, Spain has the largest number of SWIFT codes. Its head office code is PARBESMHXXX.

The number of codes tells you something about how it registers branches and services than about how big it is. Paying someone at BNP Paribas Securities Services, Spain? Go with PARBESMHXXX unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

How long does a transfer to Spain take?

There is no fixed delivery time for transfers to Spain: many arrive within a day, others take several business days. Bank holidays in Spain or in the sending country can add extra days, because banks do not process payments on those days.

When a payment takes longer than expected, the sender should contact the sending bank for a trace; only the sending side can start an official trace. Specialist transfer services often provide tracking in their app so you can follow the payment.

Sending money to Spain for less

An international bank payment to Spain often costs more than the fee suggests. You pay a transfer fee, sometimes charges from intermediary banks and, above all, the exchange rate markup when currencies differ.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee: banks convert at a rate with a margin built in. A simple test: put the rate you get next to the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

Money transfer services frequently use rates closer to the mid-market rate. Before you send money to Spain, take a minute to compare what arrives on GoldexPay rather than accepting the first rate you see.

What the letters in a Spain BIC mean

A SWIFT code is either 8 or 11 characters long and follows a fixed pattern. Characters one to four stand for the bank, characters five and six form the country code and characters seven and eight give the location.

In every code from Spain, characters five and six show the ISO country code of Spain. A code with a different country code come from a bank abroad.

If the last three are XXX, it means the head office, and the 8-character version leads to the same place. For most transfers the head office code is fine, unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

Euro payments to Spain: is a BIC needed?

Within the SEPA zone, euro transfers to Spain use the same rules, so the IBAN does the job in most cases. A field for the BIC is usually optional in that case.

A SWIFT code does come into play when the currency is not euros and when the money comes from outside SEPA. Instant euro transfers have become increasingly supported within SEPA. Fees are generally low as long as everything stays in euros – conversion is what costs money.

The Euro (EUR) and conversion costs

Spain uses the Euro, code EUR. Money sent in a different currency is converted into EUR.

Where the conversion happens has an effect on how much arrives. Check how much EUR the recipient gets via several providers. Rates for EUR move all the time, so a quote is usually valid only briefly.

About our data and how to check a code

The most reliable place for the right code remains a document from the bank itself. An incorrect BIC may lead to a delay, a returned payment or extra fees, so compare it with the list on this page.

We collect bank codes using public sources and update them from time to time. Still, banks merge, rename themselves or retire codes and our data may lag behind. Before any payment that matters, check the BIC with the recipient’s bank. GoldexPay is not a bank and has no link to the banks in this list.

Fraudsters often use fake invoices carrying new bank details that look completely genuine. A real SWIFT code says nothing about whether a request is genuine.

Getting paid from abroad into an account in Spain

A sender in another country needs several details from you. Share your name as registered with the bank, your account number or IBAN, the BIC of your bank and your address.

Look up the bank in the list above to check its code – your bank statement is the final word. It helps to include the name and city of your bank because some forms have separate fields for it.

What lands in your account is often lower than what was sent. Charges on incoming payments differ from bank to bank; check the price list of your bank. On invoices, agree who bears the costs to avoid a shortfall.

Banks in Spain beginning with the letter :letter

This page shows only the banks in Spain whose name starts with :letter, sorted alphabetically. The totals mentioned above always cover all banks in Spain.

Many institutions are listed under their official name, so the letter can differ from what you expect. Use the full list for Spain when you do not know the exact name.