London Clearing House Limited, The SWIFT/BIC code

SWIFT/BIC code of London Clearing House Limited, The

The short code LCHLGB2E and the full code LCHLGB2EXXX refer to the same bank: London Clearing House Limited, The, with its head office in London. A SWIFT code tells the sending bank which institution should receive the money, much like a postcode for banks. In practice you mostly come across the code on invoices from abroad, in payment forms and on the account details that London Clearing House Limited, The provides.

On this page we explain how the code is put together, when you need it and which other details a transfer to or from London Clearing House Limited, The requires. Remember that the BIC just identifies the bank, not the person: the account number or IBAN does that part.

Getting paid from abroad into a London Clearing House Limited, The account

When you are waiting for money from abroad, give the sender a complete set of details. That means: your full name as registered with London Clearing House Limited, The, your IBAN or account number, the SWIFT/BIC code LCHLGB2EXXX (or LCHLGB2E) and, often, your postal address.

The sender’s bank might request the bank address of London Clearing House Limited, The, in which case the London head office is the usual answer. A mistake in the IBAN is harder to fix than it looks, so copy the details from your online banking.

An incoming payment does not always land for the full amount. Charges on incoming payments vary from bank to bank; check the price list of London Clearing House Limited, The. Agree with the sender who pays which costs before the money is sent.

Paying into London Clearing House Limited, The in GBP

The currency in United Kingdom is the British Pound (GBP). Money sent in a different currency is exchanged into GBP before it reaches the account. Every conversion costs the amount – usually through the rate rather than a fee.

Who does the conversion affects how much arrives. Sending the amount directly in GBP usually avoids an extra conversion.

The GBP rate changes throughout the day and quotes are often valid only for a short time. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small gap in the rate adds up quickly.

Transfer times and tracking a payment to London Clearing House Limited, The

There is no single delivery time for international payments: some land the same day or the next while others need several business days. Bank holidays in the sending or receiving country add extra days, since banks do not process on those days. Sometimes a bank asks about the purpose of a payment before releasing it.

When a payment takes longer than expected, ask the sending bank for the status and the transaction reference. Keep the payment confirmation; it contains the details a bank needs to start a trace.

The bank that sent the money is able to request a trace; the receiving side usually has nothing to trace yet. Request from the sender the payment receipt.

Protect yourself against fake payment requests

One of the most common tricks goes like this: an email arrives with a request claiming that a company now has new bank details and that the next payment should go there. A real SWIFT code tells you nothing about who owns the account: scammers use real codes of real banks.

Always verify a change of bank details through a phone call on a number you know, not one from the message. Watch out for time pressure, unusual wording or an email address that differs by one letter. When a payment was sent to the wrong account, call your bank right away: the sooner they act, the better the chance of a recall.

Recipients are targeted too: one known trick is a buyer who pays too much followed by a request to refund the difference. A payment confirmation from the sender proves nothing; only your own account shows what has arrived.

About this information

The codes on this page come from publicly available data. Even so, banks merge or retire codes. The number of codes we show reflect our own data.

See our directory on this page as a helpful check, and let the details from the recipient or London Clearing House Limited, The have the final say. GoldexPay is not affiliated with London Clearing House Limited, The. Should you notice something that is out of date, we appreciate a message via the contact page.

International transfers from London Clearing House Limited, The: the real cost

A bank transfer abroad costs rather more than the fee suggests. There is the fee for the transfer itself, possibly charges from correspondent banks in between and, most importantly, the margin on the exchange rate when the money is converted.

Many banks do not show the margin on the rate separately. Compare the rate you are offered against the mid-market rate – the rate you find on financial news sites; the gap is what conversion costs you.

Money transfer services frequently use a rate near the mid-market rate. Before your next transfer, it is worth comparing the total cost on GoldexPay. You can always use your account at London Clearing House Limited, The as the source of the money, while a cheaper service handles the conversion.

Do you need LCHLGB2E for a SEPA transfer?

United Kingdom is a member of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), where euro transfers follow common rules. For a regular euro transfer from another SEPA country, you normally only need the IBAN and the BIC is often filled in automatically.

A SWIFT code like LCHLGB2E does come into play when the currency is not euros and when the money comes from outside SEPA. If a payment form asks for the BIC anyway, adding LCHLGB2E is fine.

Instant payments in euros are increasingly supported within SEPA – whether London Clearing House Limited, The offers them for your account is worth checking. Provided the payment stays in euros, a SEPA transfer tends to be inexpensive; it is the conversion that costs money.

LCHLGB2E or LCHLGB2EXXX – which one to use?

Every SWIFT/BIC code starts with an 8-character core: four letters for the bank, two letters for the country and a two-character location code. Combined, those parts form LCHLGB2E.

The long version adds three more characters for a branch or department. If the last three are XXX, the code points to the head office, so LCHLGB2EXXX and LCHLGB2E are interchangeable.

Leave out spaces, dots when you type LCHLGB2E. Look out for the letter O and the digit 0 or the letter I and the digit 1, a common source of typos.

Head office or branch code at London Clearing House Limited, The?

London Clearing House Limited, The uses 3 separate SWIFT/BIC codes across 1 cities. Only one is the head office code; the others identify branches or departments, and sometimes internal departments.

Usually there is no need to look up a branch: transfers addressed to LCHLGB2EXXX reach London Clearing House Limited, The correctly. Only use a branch code when the account holder gives you that exact code, for example on an invoice or in their bank details.

When in doubt, ask the person you are paying for the exact BIC in their bank details. Codes for branches are more prone to change than LCHLGB2EXXX.

Is LCHLGB2E still correct? How to check

The safest source for the BIC is the bank details provided by the recipient. Check that code with LCHLGB2E here; if they differ, ask before you pay.

If the code is wrong, the payment might be delayed, be returned or end up costing more. Do not forget the account number: a mistake there can be harder to undo than a wrong code.

An automatic check by your bank only confirms that the IBAN exists – not that it belongs to the person you mean to pay. More and more banks check the payee name against the account before you confirm – do not ignore a mismatch warning. Sending a small amount first is worth it for a large first payment, even if it costs an extra fee.