BNP Paribas SWIFT/BIC code

What BNPAUS31 means for a payment to BNP Paribas

BNPAUS31 and BNPAUS31XXX are two ways of writing the same SWIFT/BIC code, and both lead to BNP Paribas in New York,ny. A SWIFT code tells every bank in the chain which institution should receive the money, much like a postcode for banks. You will need it mainly for payments that cross a border.

This page is meant to help people who pays into an account at BNP Paribas without mistakes. A SWIFT code identifies an institution, never a single account, which is why you always need the account number too.

Transfer times and tracking a payment to BNP Paribas

There is no single answer for every transfer: some land within a day, others take several business days. Transfers sent after the cut-off time or on a weekend or public holiday usually go out the next business day. Compliance checks by one of the banks can also cause a delay.

If the money is delayed, ask the sending bank for the tracking status and the transaction reference; with that reference banks can see where the payment is. Specialist transfer services usually provide tracking in their app showing how far the payment is.

Only the sending bank can start an official trace. Request from the sender a copy of the payment confirmation including the reference – it helps your own bank look for the money.

What a transfer from BNP Paribas abroad really costs

When you transfer money abroad via BNP Paribas, the visible fee is only part of the cost. Besides the transfer fee, correspondent or intermediary banks may deduct a fee, and when the money changes currency, the bank usually applies a rate that is less favourable than the real market rate.

The real cost is often in the rate, rather than in the fee: the bank converts at a rate with a margin built in. Check the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate, the midpoint between buy and sell rates you see on financial sites.

For many routes, a transfer service turns out to be cheaper than a bank, mainly because of the exchange rate. GoldexPay compares transfer providers next to each other so you can see the amount the recipient gets before you commit. You can still use your account at BNP Paribas as the source of the money; only the conversion and sending happen elsewhere.

A note on our data

The directory on GoldexPay is based on public sources. Banks reorganise, change names and retire codes, and a directory never catches every change immediately. The figures on this page are based on our own data.

Before any payment that matters, check the BIC with the recipient’s bank or the recipient. GoldexPay is not affiliated with BNP Paribas; we are a comparison site for money transfers. Should you notice a mistake, we appreciate a message via the contact page.

Scams that use SWIFT codes

Scammers regularly use fake invoices with changed bank details, sometimes in an email that looks completely genuine. A valid SWIFT code says nothing about whether the request is genuine: scammers use real codes of real banks.

Before paying, confirm a change of bank details through a phone call. Pressure and requests to keep it quiet are warning signs. Already paid? Call your bank straight away and ask them to try to recall the payment and report the fraud.

Fraud can also target the receiver. Someone claims to have sent more than agreed and asks you to return the difference. Do not act before the money has really arrived and check with BNP Paribas if anything seems off.

Incoming international payments to BNP Paribas

When you are waiting for a payment from another country, give the sender a complete set of details. What they need is: the account holder’s name, account number or IBAN, BNPAUS31XXX and often your postal address.

You can include BNP Paribas and New York,ny as well, because some payment forms have separate fields for them. A mistake in the IBAN can be harder to fix than you might think, so copy the details from your online banking.

What lands in your account can be less than what was sent. Correspondent banks can take a fee, and when currencies differ, a markup on the rate comes on top. On invoices, it is common to agree how the fees are split.

BNP Paribas: head office code versus branch codes

BNP Paribas uses 41 different SWIFT/BIC codes. One of them is the head office code; the others belong to branches or departments, and sometimes specific services.

For the vast majority of payments to a private or business account, the head office code BNPAUS31XXX works fine. When you receive a branch code, stick to it rather than swapping it for the head office code.

The best way is to copy the code directly from the account holder’s statement. Branch codes are sometimes changed or retired when banks reorganise, so a code from an old document is not always valid.

The US Dollar and what conversion costs you

United States pays in the US Dollar, with the currency code USD. A payment in a foreign currency will be exchanged into USD on its way to BNP Paribas, and whoever converts it chooses the rate. There is rarely a separate charge for that conversion; it is built into the rate.

Which bank converts the money matters: every bank has its own margin. Check what USD arrives with several services.

Exchange rates change all the time – some services let you fix a rate in advance. If you pay regularly, small differences in the rate make a real difference over a year.

Is BNPAUS31 still correct? How to check

The most reliable source for the BIC is the bank details provided by the recipient – an invoice, a statement or a screenshot from online banking. Compare it with BNPAUS31 here.

Errors in the BIC tend to be costly rather than disastrous: often the payment comes back, minus fees. A mistake in the account number is more serious, because the money may be credited to someone else; check it just as carefully.

A format check by your bank merely tells you that the code exists, not that it is the right account. Some banks now compare the payee name with the account before you confirm; take any warning seriously. For a first payment, some people send a small amount first before sending the rest.

Why BNP Paribas has an 8- and an 11-character code

A SWIFT code is made up of fixed blocks: characters one to four stand for the bank, the next two give the country and the two after that indicate the location. That gives you BNPAUS31 for BNP Paribas.

XXX at the end of BNPAUS31XXX does not stand for a placeholder or an error: it stands for the head office of BNP Paribas. Certain payment forms insist on 11 characters, and then you can enter XXX behind BNPAUS31.

As a rule the code is typed in capitals and without spaces. A single letter may route the money to another bank.