Cathay United Bank SWIFT/BIC code

Cathay United Bank SWIFT code: TFITTWT1

If an invoice shows TFITTWT1 or TFITTWT1XXX, you are looking at the identical address for Cathay United Bank in Taiwan. A SWIFT code tells every bank in the chain which institution should receive the money, a bit like a postal address for banks. It comes up mainly when dealing with transfers between countries and payments in foreign currencies.

Further down we go through the practical questions: receiving money at Cathay United Bank, paying someone in another country and how to verify a SWIFT code before you confirm a payment. The SWIFT code on its own cannot identify a personal account; that is what the IBAN or account number is for.

Why Cathay United Bank has an 8- and an 11-character code

The layout of a BIC never changes: a bank code of four letters, a two-letter country code and a two-character location code, sometimes followed by a branch code. The result is TFITTWT1.

Most payment forms work with either length. If yours requires eleven characters, use TFITTWT1XXX; if it wants eight, use TFITTWT1.

Type the code as one block, in capitals and without separators. Pasting the code is safer than typing it by hand.

Sending money abroad from Cathay United Bank

What you pay for an international transfer has more than one component, and the transfer fee is only the most visible one. There is the fee for the transfer itself, sometimes fees charged by intermediary banks along the way and, most importantly, the margin on the exchange rate if the currency changes.

Many banks rarely show their exchange rate markup separately, but you pay it all the same. A simple test: put the rate you get against the mid-market rate for the same moment and look at the difference.

For a lot of routes, a specialist provider is less expensive than a bank. Next time you send money, it is worth comparing the total cost via GoldexPay instead of going straight to your bank. You can always keep your account at Cathay United Bank to fund the transfer.

Changed bank details? Be careful

Scammers regularly send fake invoices containing new bank details. That TFITTWT1 is a real code does not mean that a request mentioning it is genuine.

Before paying, verify changed bank details through a phone call, using a number you already had. Be suspicious of time pressure, odd spelling or a sender address that is slightly off. If a payment has already gone to a fraudster, call your bank right away – speed improves the chance of getting it back.

Scams also target the receiver. Someone claims to have sent more than agreed and asks you to return the difference to a new account. Do not act before the money is actually in your account.

When will the money arrive at Cathay United Bank?

How quickly a payment reaches Cathay United Bank is determined by a few things: which currency you send, how many intermediary banks are involved, daily processing deadlines and time zones. Bank holidays in the sending or receiving country add extra days. Sometimes a bank asks about the purpose of a payment before releasing it.

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

Only the sending bank is able to request a trace or a recall. Ask the sender for the payment receipt with the date and reference – it helps your own bank look for the money.

What to give a sender who pays you at Cathay United Bank

To receive a transfer from abroad at Cathay United Bank, the sender has to have not just the BIC. That means: your name exactly as it appears on the account, your account number or IBAN, the BIC TFITTWT1XXX (or TFITTWT1) and usually your address.

Their bank may also ask for the bank address of Cathay United Bank; the head office in Taipei is usually fine. A typo in the IBAN is more trouble than you might think.

Expect that the incoming amount is smaller than what the sender paid. Charges on incoming payments differ from bank to bank – the price list of Cathay United Bank tells you what applies. On invoices, it is common to agree who bears the costs, so that nobody is left short.

How to check TFITTWT1 before you pay

Ask the recipient to copy the bank details straight from a recent statement. If the code you have differs from TFITTWT1 or TFITTWT1XXX, do not guess: check with the recipient or with Cathay United Bank directly.

Errors in the SWIFT code tend to be annoying rather than fatal: often the payment comes back, minus fees. Remember the IBAN: an error there can be harder to undo than a wrong code.

A format check by your bank merely tells you that the IBAN is valid – not that it belongs to the person you mean to pay. If your bank offers it, a payee name check on the recipient adds extra certainty. When you pay someone new, some people start with a small test amount before sending the rest.

About this information

Our SWIFT/BIC directory is based on publicly available sources and is updated regularly. It is possible that a code here is out of date. Counts and locations are from our own dataset.

Before a payment of any size, check the BIC with Cathay United Bank or with the recipient. GoldexPay is a comparison site and not affiliated with Cathay United Bank. If you notice a mistake, we appreciate a message.

Choosing between the 48 SWIFT codes of Cathay United Bank

Cathay United Bank has 48 separate SWIFT/BIC codes. One of them is the head office code, TFITTWT1XXX; the others identify branches, and sometimes specific services.

In most cases there is no need to pick a branch: transfers addressed to TFITTWT1XXX are routed within Cathay United Bank correctly. When you receive a specific code, stick to it rather than swapping it with the head office code.

When in doubt, check with the recipient which code their bank gave them. Branch codes are more likely to be retired than TFITTWT1XXX when a bank merges or closes offices.