SWIFT/BIC codes in Switzerland: banks starting with H

Finding a SWIFT code in Switzerland

On this page you find the SWIFT/BIC codes of 697 banks in Switzerland – 1904 codes altogether. You will need a SWIFT/BIC code mostly when making payments across borders and for payments in a foreign currency.

Pick the bank from the list to view the head office code and any branch codes. Below the list we explain how a code from Switzerland is put together, how to send money there at a fair price and how to check a code before you pay.

Filter: banks in Switzerland with :letter

This filter narrows the list to banks from Switzerland that begin with :letter to make searching quicker. The totals mentioned here apply to all 697 banks and not only this letter.

Cannot find the bank? Its official name may start with a different letter – think of the full legal name instead of the brand. Try the full list for Switzerland if you are not sure how the name is spelled.

Verifying a SWIFT code from Switzerland

Have the recipient send you their bank details straight from a recent statement. When the code you were given differs from our list, do not guess.

Our SWIFT/BIC directory draws on publicly available sources. Still, banks merge or retire codes. Before a payment of any size, confirm the BIC with the recipient. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site and is not affiliated with the banks listed.

Watch out for invoices containing a new account, especially when they come by email. A valid BIC says nothing about whether a request is genuine: criminals use real codes too.

What the letters in a Switzerland BIC mean

SWIFT/BIC codes follow the same format worldwide: eight characters, sometimes followed by three more. The first four letters identify the bank, the fifth and sixth characters form the country code and characters seven and eight give the location.

No matter which bank, every code from Switzerland have the same country code in positions five and six: the ISO code of the country. A code with other letters in that position come from another country.

An 11-character code ends in three characters for a branch. In most cases the head office code is fine, unless the recipient gives you a branch code.

What a sender needs to pay you in Switzerland

For an international payment in Switzerland, the person paying you has to have not just the SWIFT code. Share the account holder’s name, the IBAN or account number, your bank’s SWIFT code and your address.

Your bank’s code appears in the list on this page, yet the version on your own statement or in your banking app is leading. Some banks may also want your bank’s address.

What lands in your account is often less than what was sent. Intermediary banks may deduct a fee, and if the money is converted, a markup on the rate applies. For business payments, agree who bears the costs, so nobody is left short.

Paying in euros to Switzerland

Since Switzerland is in the SEPA zone, a euro payment to an account in Switzerland normally requires just an IBAN. Most banking apps no longer ask for the BIC for these payments.

The BIC still come into play when the currency is not euros. SEPA transfers usually arrive by the next business day. Costs stay low as long as no currency is converted.

Bank or transfer service for Switzerland?

A bank transfer to Switzerland can cost more than the fee suggests. You pay the transfer fee, possibly fees from correspondent banks along the way and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup if the money is converted.

The real cost is often in the rate. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate that you find on financial sites. The difference is your real cost.

Money transfer services often offer rates closer to the mid-market rate. Before you send money to Switzerland, it is worth comparing what arrives via GoldexPay rather than accepting the first rate you see.

Tracking a payment to Switzerland

There is no single delivery time for transfers to Switzerland: some arrive the same day or the next, others take several business days. Payments made late in the day or just before a weekend or public holiday usually start a business day later.

If a transfer is delayed, ask the sender to contact the sending bank; only the sending side can start an official trace. Specialist transfer services usually show tracking in their app so you can follow the payment.

The largest SWIFT network in Switzerland: Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft

Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft tops our list of Switzerland banks when it comes to SWIFT/BIC codes. The head office of Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft uses RAIFCH22XXX.

How many codes a bank has says something about how it organises its payments than about its size. Making a payment to Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft? Go with RAIFCH22XXX except when a specific branch code is requested.

Sending CHF to Switzerland

The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF). If you send money in a different currency, the amount gets converted somewhere along the way: by your bank, an intermediary or the receiving bank.

Where the conversion happens has an effect on how much arrives, as rates and margins differ per bank. In many cases you pay less to send CHF directly through a provider that converts near the mid-market rate. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small difference in the rate adds up quickly.