Bank Morgan Stanley AG SWIFT/BIC code

What MSSACHZX means for a payment to Bank Morgan Stanley AG

Whether a recipient gives you MSSACHZX or MSSACHZXXXX, you are looking at the identical address for Bank Morgan Stanley AG in Switzerland. A BIC does one job: it ensures that a cross-border transfer ends up at the right bank. It comes up mainly for payments that cross a border.

Below we go through the practical side: receiving money at Bank Morgan Stanley AG, sending money abroad and how to verify a SWIFT code before you confirm a payment. Remember that the BIC just identifies the bank, not the account: the account number or IBAN does that part.

Paying someone abroad from your Bank Morgan Stanley AG account

A bank transfer abroad costs more than the listed fee. Besides the transfer fee, correspondent or intermediary banks may take a cut, and when currencies are converted, the bank often uses a rate below the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, not in the fee: many banks convert at a rate that includes a margin. Check the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate – the rate you find on financial news sites.

Specialist money transfer services frequently offer a rate near the mid-market rate. On GoldexPay we compare the amount that arrives with different providers, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot. Using a transfer service does not require closing your account at Bank Morgan Stanley AG: you simply pay the service from your account.

A note on our data

The codes on this page come from public sources that we update regularly. Even so, banks merge or retire codes and our data may lag behind. Counts and locations are from our own dataset and are not confirmed by Bank Morgan Stanley AG.

For a payment that matters, always check the code with the recipient’s bank or with the recipient. GoldexPay is independent of Bank Morgan Stanley AG. Spotted outdated information? Tell us through the contact page.

Which of the 6 codes of Bank Morgan Stanley AG do you need?

Bank Morgan Stanley AG uses 6 different SWIFT/BIC codes across 1 locations. Only one is the head office code; the others identify branches or departments.

Usually there is no need to look up a branch: payments sent to MSSACHZXXXX reach Bank Morgan Stanley AG correctly. A branch code only makes sense when the recipient’s bank explicitly mentions it.

Unsure which code applies? Ask the recipient or the bank itself. Codes for branches are more prone to change than the head office code.

Do you need MSSACHZX for a SEPA transfer?

Switzerland belongs to the SEPA area, where euro transfers follow common rules. For a standard euro transfer within SEPA, you normally only need the IBAN; many banks no longer ask for the BIC.

You still need MSSACHZXXXX for non-euro payments or transfers from countries outside SEPA. Some banks and apps also show a field for the BIC; if so, fill in MSSACHZX.

Euro payments within SEPA normally land by the next business day. Provided no currency is converted, a SEPA transfer is inexpensive; it is the conversion that costs money.

Swiss Franc (CHF) and conversion costs

The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF). When you pay money in a different currency, the amount has to be converted at some point: by your bank, an intermediary or Bank Morgan Stanley AG itself. You rarely see a separate line for that conversion – the cost sits in the rate.

Who does the conversion has an effect on the final amount, as rates and margins differ per bank. Sending the money directly in CHF usually avoids an extra conversion.

The CHF rate fluctuates throughout the day and quotes are often valid only for a short time. With bigger transfers, even seemingly small difference in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Changed bank details? Be careful

Scammers regularly use fake invoices containing new bank details, sometimes in an email that looks completely genuine. A correct SWIFT code tells you nothing about who owns the account.

Always verify changed bank details by phone. Be suspicious of urgent requests, odd spelling or a sender address that is slightly off. If a payment has already gone to the wrong account, contact your bank immediately – speed improves the chance of getting it back.

Fraud also target the receiver. Someone sends too much and asks you to return the difference to a new account. A payment confirmation from the sender proves nothing; only your own account shows what has arrived.

Transfer times and tracking a payment to Bank Morgan Stanley AG

How quickly a transfer arrives at Bank Morgan Stanley AG is determined by a few things: which currency you send, the number of banks in between, daily processing deadlines and differences in time zone. Weekends and public holidays in either country add extra days. Sometimes a bank wants to know about the purpose of a payment.

A growing number of banks are connected to SWIFT gpi. Each payment gets a unique transaction reference, the UETR that banks can use to trace it. Money transfer services often provide a status online showing where the money has got.

A delayed transfer is traced from the sending side on the basis of the transfer details. On the receiving end, it helps to check your statements to see a slightly lower amount.

Incoming international payments to Bank Morgan Stanley AG

To receive an international payment into your account at Bank Morgan Stanley AG, the sender has to have not just the BIC. That means: your full name as registered with Bank Morgan Stanley AG, your account number or IBAN, the SWIFT/BIC code MSSACHZXXXX and usually your address.

It helps to include the bank name and Zurich as well. Double-check each detail before you share them – a sender rarely spots a mistake in someone else’s details.

Money from abroad does not always arrive for the full amount. Charges on incoming payments vary per bank. On invoices, you can agree who bears the costs to avoid a shortfall.

Before you send: check the Bank Morgan Stanley AG code

Ask the recipient to copy the account details straight from their banking app. Compare it with MSSACHZX on this page and ask if anything does not match.

Mistakes in the BIC are annoying rather than disastrous: often the payment comes back, minus fees. Do not forget the IBAN: an error there can be more difficult to correct than a wrong code.

Many banking apps validate the format of an IBAN and some suggest the matching BIC, but that does not prove the account belongs to the right person. Where available, a payee name check on the recipient gives an extra layer of safety. When you pay someone new, many people send a small test amount and wait for confirmation.

8 or 11 characters: MSSACHZX versus MSSACHZXXXX

Every SWIFT/BIC code has the same eight core characters: four letters for the bank, two letters for the country and two characters for the location. The result is MSSACHZX, the short form of the code.

The full version has three more characters that identify a branch or department. If the last three are XXX, they simply mean the head office, which is why MSSACHZXXXX and MSSACHZX lead to the same place.

In practice the code is typed in capitals, without spaces or dashes. Watch for the letter O and the digit 0 and the letter I and the digit 1; they are easy to mix up.