Credit Agricole CIB SWIFT/BIC code

What CRLYGB2L means for a payment to Credit Agricole CIB

CRLYGB2L and CRLYGB2LXXX are two ways of writing the same bank identifier, and both point to Credit Agricole CIB in London. A BIC has a single purpose: it ensures that a cross-border transfer reaches the right bank. In practice you usually see the code on international invoices, in your banking app and on the account details that Credit Agricole CIB provides.

Below you will find the practical side: receiving money at Credit Agricole CIB, paying someone in another country and how to verify a SWIFT code before you confirm a payment. Remember that the BIC only identifies the bank, not the person: the IBAN or account number does that part.

Paying into Credit Agricole CIB in GBP

United Kingdom pays in the British Pound, code GBP. A payment in a foreign currency will be converted into GBP before it reaches the account. You rarely see a separate line for the conversion; it is built into the rate.

Who converts the payment matters: every bank has its own margin. Check what GBP arrives via several providers.

The rate for GBP fluctuates throughout the day, so the amount you see is usually only valid for a short time. If you pay regularly, a slightly better rate make a real difference over a year.

Scams that use SWIFT codes

Be alert if a contact suddenly wants you to pay into another account abroad. The fact that CRLYGB2L exists is no guarantee that the account is legitimate; criminals use the codes of real banks too.

Always verify changed bank details through a phone call on a number you know, not one from the message. Watch out for urgent requests, odd spelling or a sender address that is slightly off. When a payment has already gone to a fraudster, contact your bank immediately: the sooner they act, the better the chance of a recall.

Recipients can be targeted as well: a classic trick is an overpayment followed by a request to refund the difference to another account. A payment confirmation from the sender is no proof – check your own account.

Is CRLYGB2L still correct? How to check

Have the recipient send you their account details straight from their online banking. Compare it with CRLYGB2L on this page; if they differ, ask before you pay.

A wrong SWIFT code can cause delays, a returned payment or extra fees for investigation. Do not forget the IBAN: a mistake there can be harder to undo than a wrong code.

An automatic check in your banking app only confirms that the IBAN is valid. More and more banks compare the name with the account; take any warning seriously. For a first payment, many people send a small amount first.

Sending money abroad from Credit Agricole CIB

When you send money abroad from Credit Agricole CIB, the fee you see is rarely all of the cost. On top of the transfer fee, banks in between can deduct a fee, and when currencies are converted, the bank usually uses a rate below the actual market rate.

That exchange rate margin tends to be the largest cost. An easy check: set the rate you get next to the mid-market rate and work out the difference on your amount.

For a lot of routes, a transfer service turns out to be cheaper than a traditional bank transfer. GoldexPay compares the amount that arrives across providers, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot. Choosing a specialist does not mean closing your account at Credit Agricole CIB – you pay the provider from your own account.

Head office or branch code at Credit Agricole CIB?

Having 2 codes, Credit Agricole CIB belongs to the banks that use separate codes for parts of the organisation. The main code is CRLYGB2LXXX.

If nobody asks you for a branch code, go with CRLYGB2LXXX or its short form CRLYGB2L. Only use a branch code when the account holder explicitly asks for it, for example on a letter or invoice.

When in doubt, check with the recipient which code their bank gave them. Branch codes are sometimes changed or retired over time, so a code from an old document is not always valid.

Tracking a transfer to or from Credit Agricole CIB

There is no fixed answer for international payments: some land within a day, others take several business days. Weekends and public holidays in the sending or receiving country add extra days to the journey. Occasionally a bank asks about the purpose of a payment, which can hold things up.

A growing number of banks use SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Each gpi transfer gets a unique reference, the UETR, which your bank can use to see where the money is. Save your transfer receipt.

A missing payment is investigated by the sending bank on the basis of the transfer details. Request from the sender the payment receipt including the reference – it helps your own bank look for the money.

Paying Credit Agricole CIB in euros within SEPA

Since United Kingdom is part of SEPA, a euro payment to Credit Agricole CIB from another SEPA country usually requires just an IBAN. Most banking apps no longer ask for the BIC in that case.

A SWIFT code like CRLYGB2L still come into play for payments in other currencies and when the money comes from outside SEPA. If your banking app has a field for the BIC regardless, adding CRLYGB2L is fine.

Instant payments in euros have become increasingly supported across SEPA. As long as the payment stays in euros, the transfer is inexpensive; costs rise once a conversion is involved.

Why Credit Agricole CIB has an 8- and an 11-character code

A BIC is built from a few fixed parts: characters one to four stand for the bank, characters five and six show the country and the two after that mark the location. For Credit Agricole CIB, the 8-character core is CRLYGB2L.

Most payment forms accept either length. If yours asks for eleven characters, enter CRLYGB2LXXX, otherwise CRLYGB2L is fine.

In practice the code is written in capitals, without spaces or dashes. Watch for O versus 0 or the letter I and the digit 1, a common source of typos.

Incoming international payments to Credit Agricole CIB

Someone abroad who wants to pay you will ask for a few details about your account, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. The basics are: your name, account number or IBAN, CRLYGB2LXXX or CRLYGB2L and in many cases your home address.

Their bank might request the bank address of Credit Agricole CIB. Double-check the details before you send them.

An incoming payment will not always arrive for the full amount. Fees for incoming transfers differ per bank; check the price list of Credit Agricole CIB. For business payments, you can agree who bears the costs.

About this information

We gather SWIFT/BIC codes from publicly available data and update them from time to time. It is possible that information here is no longer current, for example after a merger. The number of codes we show reflect our own data.

For any payment that matters, confirm the code with Credit Agricole CIB or with the recipient. GoldexPay is a comparison site and not part of Credit Agricole CIB. If you notice a mistake, we welcome a message.