SWIFT/BIC codes in Switzerland: banks starting with X

Switzerland: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

Our directory covers 697 banks and financial institutions in Switzerland and 1904 SWIFT/BIC codes between them. You need a SWIFT/BIC code mostly when making payments across borders.

Select 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 how to avoid mistakes before you send money.

Transfer times to Switzerland

An international transfer to Switzerland typically needs anywhere from one to several business days, depending on the currency, the route and the banks involved. Public holidays in Switzerland or in the sending country add a day or more, because banks do not process payments on those days.

When a payment takes longer than expected, ask the sender to contact the sending bank – the receiving bank often cannot see a payment that has not arrived. Save the payment confirmation until the money has arrived.

How SWIFT codes from Switzerland are built

A BIC is 8 or 11 characters long. The first four letters identify the bank, characters five and six are the country code and the next two give the location.

No matter which bank, every code from Switzerland share the same country code in positions five and six: the ISO code of the country. A code with a different country code come from a bank abroad.

The last three characters, if present, stand for a branch or department; XXX means the head office. In most cases the head office code is what you need.

Incoming international payments in Switzerland

A sender in another country will ask for several details about your account. Share your name as registered with the bank, the IBAN or account number, your bank’s SWIFT code and your address.

Your bank’s code is in the list on this page, yet the version on your own statement or in your banking app is leading. Some sending banks also want your bank’s address; it does no harm to include it.

What lands in your account is often less than the amount sent. Fees for incoming transfers differ per bank – your bank’s price list tells you what applies. For business payments, state who bears the costs.

The cheapest way to send money to Switzerland

If you transfer money to Switzerland via a regular bank, the fee you see is rarely all of the cost. You pay a transfer fee, possibly fees from correspondent banks and, most importantly, the exchange rate markup.

That exchange rate margin is often the biggest cost item, even though it is not listed as a fee. An easy check: set the rate you get against the mid-market rate and look at the difference.

For many currency pairs, a specialist provider turns out to be cheaper than a traditional bank transfer, mainly because of the rate. GoldexPay compares what recipients in Switzerland receive with different services, so you can pick the cheapest route.

Sending CHF to Switzerland

Most accounts in Switzerland are usually held in CHF – the Swiss Franc. If you send money in a different currency, the amount gets converted somewhere along the way – by your bank, a bank in between or the recipient’s bank.

Who converts the payment matters, because each party uses its own rate. Check how much CHF the recipient gets with different services. Rates for CHF move all the time – some providers let you lock in a rate.

SEPA transfers to Switzerland

Within the SEPA zone, euro payments to Switzerland follow common rules and in most cases need only the IBAN. A field for the BIC is often optional in that case.

A SWIFT code does matter when the currency is not euros and for transfers from outside SEPA. Euro payments within SEPA normally land by the next business day. Fees are generally low provided no currency is converted – conversion is what costs money.

Banks in Switzerland starting with :letter

Here you see a selection: only banks in Switzerland whose name begins with :letter. The counts in the introduction always cover the whole country and not only this selection.

Many institutions appear under their official name, which may start with words like Bank or Banco. The complete list is one click away when you cannot find the bank here.

How reliable is this list?

The most reliable source for the BIC is the recipient’s own bank details: an invoice, a statement or their online banking. An incorrect BIC can cause a delay, a returned payment or additional charges.

We collect bank codes using public sources and update our list from time to time. Institutions merge, close branches and retire codes, and no directory catches every change immediately. Use this list as a starting point rather than the last word: the bank details from the recipient come first. GoldexPay is not a bank.

Scammers often send payment requests carrying new bank details from what looks like a familiar address. Before paying, confirm changed details through a separate channel, using a number you already had.

Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft and its SWIFT codes

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.

Many codes often reflects that the bank registers branches and departments separately. Unless a branch code is given, the head office code RAIFCH22XXX works for a payment to Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft.