Sainsbury's Bank PLC SWIFT/BIC code

Sainsbury's Bank PLC SWIFT code: SANBGB21

SANBGB21 and SANBGB21XXX are the short and the long form of the same bank identifier, and both point to Sainsbury's Bank PLC in Edinburgh. Banks worldwide use these codes to route international transfers to the right institution. You will need it mainly for payments that cross a border and payments in foreign currencies.

We wrote this page to help people who sends money to an account at Sainsbury's Bank PLC. A SWIFT code identifies a bank or branch, never a single account, which is why you always need the account number too.

Euro transfers to Sainsbury's Bank PLC: is a BIC needed?

Since United Kingdom is part of the SEPA zone, a euro transfer into Sainsbury's Bank PLC from within the SEPA area usually requires just the IBAN. Most banking apps no longer ask for the BIC for these payments.

For anything other than euros and from non-SEPA countries, SANBGB21XXX is still required. A few forms also ask for the BIC; if so, fill in SANBGB21 or SANBGB21XXX.

Instant euro transfers have become increasingly available within SEPA. As long as no currency is converted, the transfer is inexpensive; costs rise once a conversion is involved.

Sending GBP to Sainsbury's Bank PLC

Accounts at Sainsbury's Bank PLC are typically held in GBP, the national currency of United Kingdom. If you send another currency gets converted somewhere along the way: by your bank, an intermediary or Sainsbury's Bank PLC itself. There is rarely a separate charge for that conversion; it is built into the rate.

Where the conversion happens has an effect on how much arrives. In many cases you pay less to send GBP straight away through a provider with a good rate rather than letting the receiving bank convert.

Exchange rates change during the day – some services let you fix a rate in advance. On larger amounts, even small gap in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

A note on our data

The codes on this page come from public sources. Even so, banks merge or change codes and our data may lag behind. Counts and locations come from our directory.

Use our data as a reference, rather than as the final word – the bank details from the recipient are leading. We are a comparison site for money transfers and not part of Sainsbury's Bank PLC. Should you notice a mistake, we appreciate a short note.

How long does an international transfer to Sainsbury's Bank PLC take?

A SWIFT payment typically needs anywhere from one to several business days. Payments made late in the day or on a weekend or public holiday usually go out a business day later. Occasionally a bank wants to know about the purpose of a payment before releasing it.

If a transfer seems late, ask the sending bank about the status or the UETR so they can trace it along the chain. Specialist transfer services often provide a status online showing where the money has got.

If a payment has not arrived after a few business days, the person who paid should contact their own bank rather than Sainsbury's Bank PLC. On the receiving end, you can look at your account for a partial amount, since fees may have been deducted.

Head office or branch code at Sainsbury's Bank PLC?

Our directory lists 34 SWIFT/BIC codes for Sainsbury's Bank PLC in 2 places. Besides the head office code SANBGB21XXX, there are codes for branches, departments or specific services.

If nobody asks you for a branch code, go with SANBGB21XXX. Only use a branch code when the account holder gives you that exact code, for example on an invoice or in their bank details.

The safest route is to take the code straight from the account holder’s invoice. Branch codes can change when banks reorganise, so a code from an old document is not always valid.

Protect yourself against fake payment requests

Criminals regularly use payment requests containing changed bank details. A correct SWIFT code tells you nothing about who owns the account – scammers simply use real codes.

Never rely on a phone number from the same email that contains the new account. Urgency or secrecy tend to be red flags; a genuine business can wait for you to check. When a payment was sent to a fraudster, contact your bank immediately.

Recipients are targeted too: one known trick is a buyer who pays too much followed by a request to send back the difference. Do not act before the money is actually in your account and check with Sainsbury's Bank PLC if anything seems off.

Verifying the SWIFT code of Sainsbury's Bank PLC

Have the recipient send you the bank details directly from their online banking. Check it against SANBGB21 on this page; if they differ, ask before you pay.

Mistakes in the BIC tend to be costly more than disastrous: often the payment comes back, minus fees. Do not forget the account number: an error there can be harder to correct than a wrong BIC.

Most online banking apps check the structure of an IBAN and some suggest the matching BIC. Some banks now compare the name against the account before you confirm – do not ignore a mismatch warning. For a first payment, many people send a small amount first.

Getting paid from abroad into a Sainsbury's Bank PLC account

Someone abroad who wants to pay you needs a few details from you, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. Give them your name as the bank knows it, the IBAN or account number, the BIC SANBGB21XXX and your address.

Their bank might request the address of your bank; the head office in Edinburgh is usually fine. A mistake in the IBAN can be more trouble than you might think.

Expect that the amount credited is below the amount on the sender’s receipt. Charges on incoming payments vary from bank to bank; check the price list of Sainsbury's Bank PLC. On invoices, it is common to state how the fees are split.

Paying someone abroad from your Sainsbury's Bank PLC account

The price of an international transfer is made up of several parts, and the transfer fee is only the most visible one. On top of a fixed fee, banks in between can take a cut, and if the money changes currency, the bank often applies a rate below the actual market rate.

Banks do not list the margin on the rate separately, but you pay it all the same. An easy check: put the bank’s rate against the mid-market rate and work out the difference on your amount.

For a lot of routes, a transfer service turns out to be less expensive than a traditional bank transfer, mainly because of the exchange rate. GoldexPay compares what recipients receive with different providers, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot. Using a transfer service does not mean leaving Sainsbury's Bank PLC: you simply pay the service from your account.

SANBGB21 or SANBGB21XXX – which one to use?

A BIC is built from fixed blocks: characters one to four stand for the bank, characters five and six show the country and the two after that mark the location. Together, those parts make up SANBGB21.

Many payment forms work with either length. If a form asks for eleven characters, enter SANBGB21XXX; if it wants eight, use SANBGB21.

In practice the code is written in capitals. Watch for the letter O and the digit 0 or I versus 1.