SWIFT/BIC codes in United Kingdom: banks starting with L

United Kingdom: banks and their SWIFT/BIC codes

On this page you find the SWIFT/BIC codes of 4648 institutions in United Kingdom. Every code identifies a bank or one of its branches, so a payment from abroad reaches the right place.

Search for the recipient’s bank below and open its page for the full list of codes and what else a transfer requires. The sections below covers how the codes work, the cost of transfers and the checks worth doing before you send money.

How long does a transfer to United Kingdom take?

There is no fixed delivery time for transfers to United Kingdom: many land the same day or the next, others take several business days. Public holidays in United Kingdom or in the sending country add a day or more to the journey.

If a transfer seems late, the sender should contact their own bank for a trace; only the sending side can start an official trace. Specialist transfer services often show a status in their app.

Bank or transfer service for United Kingdom?

What you pay for a payment to United Kingdom has more than one component, and the fee on your screen is only one of them. There is the transfer fee, possibly charges from intermediary banks along the way and, above all, the margin on the exchange rate.

The real cost is often in the rate, not in the fee. Check the bank’s rate with the mid-market rate, the midpoint you see on financial news sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

For many routes, a transfer service is less expensive than a traditional bank transfer. GoldexPay compares what recipients in United Kingdom receive with different providers, so you can pick the cheapest route.

United Kingdom and the SEPA area

Inside SEPA, euro payments to United Kingdom 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 for payments in other currencies and when the money comes from outside SEPA. Instant payments in euros are widely supported within SEPA, though not every bank offers them for every account. Costs stay low as long as no currency is converted; the conversion is where it gets expensive.

HSBC Bank PLC and its SWIFT codes

Among the 4648 institutions we list, HSBC Bank PLC holds the most SWIFT/BIC codes of all banks in United Kingdom. The head office of HSBC Bank PLC uses HBUKGB41XXX.

Banks differ in whether they register branch codes – a high count is not a measure of size. If not a branch code is given, HBUKGB41XXX is fine for a payment to HSBC Bank PLC.

How SWIFT codes from United Kingdom are built

A BIC is either 8 or 11 characters long. Characters one to four identify the bank, the fifth and sixth characters form the country code and the next two mark the location.

No matter which bank, all United Kingdom codes share the same fifth and sixth letters. Codes with a different country code come from a bank abroad, even if the bank name looks familiar.

The last three characters, if present, identify a specific branch; XXX means the head office. Use a branch code just if the recipient’s bank asks for it; otherwise the head office code is the safe choice.

The British Pound (GBP) and conversion costs

United Kingdom pays in the British Pound. If you send another currency, the amount has to be converted somewhere along the way – by your bank, a bank in between or the recipient’s bank.

Which bank converts the payment matters, because each party uses its own rate. Often it is cheaper to send GBP directly via a transfer service with a good rate so the receiving bank does not need to convert again. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small gap in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

How reliable is this list?

Ask the recipient to copy their bank details straight from their online banking. An incorrect BIC can cause delays, a returned payment or additional charges – compare it with the code in our list.

We gather bank codes from publicly available data and update them from time to time. Still, banks merge or change codes and our data may lag behind. Before any payment of any size, check the BIC with the recipient. We are a comparison service for money transfers.

Be wary of invoices containing a new account. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about who owns the account – scammers use the codes of real banks.

Incoming international payments in United Kingdom

If you expect a payment from another country in United Kingdom, give the sender all details at once. In practice that means: your full name exactly as it appears on the account, your IBAN or account number, the BIC of your bank and sometimes your address.

Your bank’s code appears in our list. It helps to add the name and city of your bank as well because some forms have separate fields for it.

Do not be surprised if the incoming amount is smaller than what the sender paid. Intermediary banks may deduct a fee, your bank may charge for incoming payments, and when currencies differ, an exchange rate margin comes on top. On invoices, state how the fees are split, so nobody is left short.

SWIFT codes in United Kingdom: banks under :letter

You are looking at a selection: only institutions in United Kingdom whose name begins with :letter. The figures for United Kingdom mentioned here cover every bank we list.

Many institutions appear under their legal name rather than the name on their app or website. The complete list is available if the letter filter does not help.