SWIFT/BIC codes in Switzerland: banks starting with V

Bank SWIFT codes for Switzerland

This overview lists 697 banks and financial institutions in Switzerland. You will need a SWIFT/BIC code mainly when making payments across borders and for payments in a foreign currency.

Each bank is listed with its own page with the head office code and, where available, branch codes. Below the list you can read how codes from Switzerland are built, how to send money to Switzerland at a fair price and how to check a code before you pay.

Transfer times to Switzerland

How fast a payment reaches Switzerland depends on a few things: which currency you send, how many intermediary banks are involved, daily processing deadlines and time zones. Transfers sent late in the day or on a weekend or public holiday often go out the next business day.

A growing number of banks use SWIFT gpi for faster and traceable payments. Every payment carries a unique transaction reference, the UETR. Specialist transfer services often show a status online so you can follow the payment.

SEPA transfers to Switzerland

Switzerland is part of the SEPA area, where euro transfers follow common rules. When you send euros from another SEPA country, you normally only need the IBAN and the BIC is often filled in automatically.

You will still need a SWIFT code for non-euro payments or money from outside the SEPA area. Instant payments in euros are increasingly supported 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.

The structure of a Switzerland SWIFT/BIC code

Each SWIFT/BIC code has 8 or 11 characters. The first four letters identify the bank, the fifth and sixth characters are the country code and characters seven and eight mark the location.

Whatever the bank, every code from Switzerland have the same fifth and sixth letters: the ISO code of the country. When the country letters point to another country, the code belongs to a bank somewhere else.

The long version ends in a branch code – XXX stands for the head office. Choose a branch code just when the recipient explicitly gives you one; otherwise the head office code is the safe choice.

Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft and its SWIFT codes

Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft tops the list for Switzerland in the number of SWIFT/BIC codes. The head office of Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft has RAIFCH22XXX; that is usually the right code for a transfer.

Practice differs in how many codes they register, so the count is not a ranking of size. Making a payment to Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft? Go with RAIFCH22XXX unless a specific branch code is requested.

SWIFT codes in Switzerland: banks under :letter

This filter limits the list down to banks in Switzerland starting with :letter. The totals mentioned here apply to every bank we list and not only this letter.

Bank not listed? The registered name may start with a different letter. The full overview for Switzerland remains available if the letter filter does not help.

Incoming international payments in Switzerland

Someone abroad who wants to pay you needs several details from you – incomplete details often cause delays. In practice that means: your full name as your bank knows it, your account number or IBAN, the BIC of your bank and usually your postal address.

Look up the bank in the list on this page – your bank statement is the final word. You can add your bank’s name and city as well because some forms have separate fields for it.

The amount you receive can be lower than what was sent. Charges on incoming payments differ from bank to bank. For business payments, agree who bears the costs, so nobody is left short.

How reliable is this list?

The most reliable place for the right code is a document from the bank itself, such as a statement or the account page in online banking. If the code you have differs from the code listed here, stop and ask: check with the recipient or the bank.

We gather bank codes using publicly available data and update them from time to time. Still, banks merge, rename themselves or retire codes. Before any payment of any size, confirm the BIC with the recipient. GoldexPay is an independent comparison site and has no link to the banks in this list.

Watch out for payment requests containing changed bank details. Always confirm changed details by phone on a number you know.

Switzerland and the Swiss Franc

The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF). A payment in a foreign currency is converted into CHF, and whoever converts it chooses the rate.

Where the conversion happens has an effect on how much arrives, since every bank sets its own rate. Check what CHF the recipient gets with several providers. Exchange rates move all the time.

Bank or transfer service for Switzerland?

If you send money to Switzerland via your bank, the stated fee is rarely all of what you pay. Besides a fixed fee, intermediary banks can take a cut and, if currencies are converted, the bank usually uses a rate below the actual market rate.

The markup on the rate tends to be the biggest part of the cost, even though it is not listed as a fee. A simple test: put the offered rate against the mid-market rate and work out the difference on your amount.

For many routes, a transfer service is cheaper than a traditional bank transfer – mostly thanks to the exchange rate. On GoldexPay you can compare what recipients in Switzerland receive across providers, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot.