Bank Mellat SWIFT/BIC code

BKMTTRIS – the SWIFT/BIC code of Bank Mellat

BKMTTRIS and BKMTTRISXXX are two ways of writing the same bank identifier, and both lead to Bank Mellat in Istanbul. The code has a single purpose: it ensures that money from abroad ends up at the right bank. In practice you usually come across the code on invoices from abroad, in payment forms and on the account details of Bank Mellat customers.

This page is meant to help people who sends money to an account at Bank Mellat without mistakes. The BIC identifies an institution, never a single account.

Transfer times and tracking a payment to Bank Mellat

There is no fixed answer for every transfer: many arrive within a day while others need several business days. Weekends and public holidays in the sending or receiving country can add extra days. Extra checks by one of the banks can also add some delay, even when all details are correct.

When a payment takes longer than expected, contact the sending bank for the tracking status and the transaction reference so they can trace it along the chain. Money transfer services often provide a status in their app so you can see where the payment has got.

Only the sending bank is able to start an official trace or a recall – the recipient’s bank often cannot see a payment that has not arrived. Request from the sender a copy of the payment confirmation with the date and reference; that often settles the question quickly.

Watch out for payment fraud

Criminals regularly send payment requests with changed bank details, sometimes in an email that looks completely genuine. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about whether the request is genuine – scammers simply use real codes.

Never rely on contact details from the same email that contains the change. Urgency and requests to keep it quiet tend to be warning signs; a genuine business can wait for you to check. If money was sent to the wrong account, call your bank right away: the sooner they act, the better the chance of a recall.

Scams also work the other way: someone sends more than agreed and asks you to refund the extra via a different route. Do not act before the money has really arrived.

What a transfer from Bank Mellat abroad really costs

The price of a payment abroad has more than one component. There is the fee for the transfer itself, sometimes charges from correspondent banks along the way and, above all, the exchange rate markup.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, not in the fee: the bank converts at a rate with a margin built in. Compare their rate with the mid-market rate; the gap is what conversion costs you.

For a lot of routes, a transfer service is less expensive than a bank, mainly because of the exchange rate. GoldexPay compares the amount that arrives across services, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot. You can always use your account at Bank Mellat as the source of the money.

Bank Mellat: head office code versus branch codes

Bank Mellat uses 3 different SWIFT/BIC codes across 3 locations. Only one is the head office code; the others belong to branches.

Usually there is no need to look up a branch: payments addressed to BKMTTRISXXX reach Bank Mellat without problems. When you receive a specific code, use it as it is rather than swapping it with the head office code.

The safest approach is to copy the code directly from the account holder’s invoice. Codes for branches are more likely to be retired than BKMTTRISXXX.

BKMTTRIS or BKMTTRISXXX – which one to use?

Every SWIFT/BIC code starts with the same eight core characters: a four-letter bank code, two letters for the country and two characters for the location. Combined, these eight characters make up BKMTTRIS, the code most people search for.

XXX at the end of BKMTTRISXXX is not a placeholder or an error: it indicates the main office of Bank Mellat. Some banking apps ask for 11 characters, in which case you simply add XXX after BKMTTRIS.

In practice the code is typed in capitals, without spaces or dashes. Look out for O versus 0 or the letter I and the digit 1.

Verifying the SWIFT code of Bank Mellat

The most reliable place for the right code is paperwork issued by the bank. When the code you were given differs from BKMTTRIS or BKMTTRISXXX, do not guess – contact the recipient or Bank Mellat.

Errors in the SWIFT code are annoying more than disastrous. An error in the account number can be a bigger problem, because the money may be credited to someone else; check it just as carefully.

Many banking apps check the structure of IBANs and some suggest the matching BIC – that confirms the format, not the owner. Some banks now check the name against the account – do not ignore a mismatch warning. When you pay someone new, some people send a small test amount before sending the rest.

Turkish Lira (TRY) and conversion costs

Türkiye uses the Turkish Lira (TRY). Money sent in a different currency will be exchanged into TRY on its way to Bank Mellat – and the bank that does it picks the rate. There is rarely a separate line for the conversion; it is built into the rate.

Which bank converts the payment matters: every bank has its own margin. Transferring the amount already in TRY often prevents a second conversion at the receiving end, provided the rate you get is fair.

The TRY rate changes constantly and quotes are often valid only for a short time. For regular payments, a slightly better rate add up over time.

What to give a sender who pays you at Bank Mellat

For a transfer from abroad into your account at Bank Mellat, the person paying you needs not just the SWIFT code. The basics are: the account holder’s name, account number or IBAN, BKMTTRISXXX and, for some countries, your home address.

Certain sending banks want the bank’s address. Double-check every detail before you share them – a sender rarely spots a mistake in someone else’s details.

Expect that the amount credited is smaller than the amount on the sender’s receipt. Correspondent banks can take a fee, Bank Mellat may charge for incoming payments, and when currencies differ, an exchange rate margin comes on top. Agree with the sender who covers the fees.

A note on our data

We gather bank codes from public sources and update them regularly. Still, banks merge or retire codes, so information can be out of date. The number of codes on this page reflect what is in our directory and not on information from Bank Mellat itself.

For a payment that matters, always check the BIC with Bank Mellat or with the recipient. GoldexPay has no connection to Bank Mellat. If you notice something that is out of date, we welcome a short note.