First Financial Bank SWIFT/BIC code

FFBCUS3C – the SWIFT/BIC code of First Financial Bank

Whether a recipient gives you FFBCUS3C or FFBCUS3CXXX, it is the identical identifier for First Financial Bank in United States. A SWIFT code tells the sending bank which institution should receive the money, much like a postcode for banks. It comes up mainly for transfers between countries.

On this page we explain how the code means, when you need it and what else a transfer to or from First Financial Bank requires. The SWIFT code alone does not identify an individual account holder; for that you need the account number or IBAN is for.

What the XXX in FFBCUS3CXXX means

A SWIFT code is built from a few fixed parts: characters one to four stand for the bank, characters five and six show the country and characters seven and eight mark the location. For First Financial Bank, the 8-character core is FFBCUS3C.

Most payment forms accept either length. If a form asks for eleven characters, enter FFBCUS3CXXX.

Type the code as one block, in upper case and without separators, exactly as shown here. Look out for the letter O and the digit 0 or the letter I and the digit 1; they are easy to mix up.

International transfers from First Financial Bank: the real cost

If you send money abroad from First Financial Bank, the fee you see is only part of what you pay. On top of the transfer fee, correspondent or intermediary banks can deduct a fee, and when currencies are converted the bank often uses a rate that is less favourable than the actual market rate.

Banks do not show the margin on the rate separately. Check the rate you are offered with the mid-market rate.

Specialised transfer providers often offer rates closer to the mid-market rate and lower fees. On GoldexPay you can compare the amount that arrives with different providers, which makes the cheapest option easy to spot. You can always use your account at First Financial Bank.

Before you send: check the First Financial Bank code

Ask the recipient to send you the bank details straight from a recent statement. Compare it with FFBCUS3C here and ask if anything does not match.

If the code is wrong, the transfer may get stuck, be returned or end up costing more, and tracing it can take weeks. An error in the IBAN or account number can be a bigger problem because it can reach the wrong person; check it just as carefully.

Most online banking apps check the format of an IBAN and some suggest the matching BIC – that confirms the format, not the owner. More and more banks check the name with the account before you confirm. For a first payment, some people send a small test amount before sending the rest.

Getting paid from abroad into a First Financial Bank account

Someone abroad who wants to pay you needs a few details about your account. The basics are: the account holder’s name, account number or IBAN, FFBCUS3CXXX and in many cases your postal address.

It helps to add the bank name and its city too. Double-check each detail before you send them, because the sender’s bank usually copies them as is.

Expect that the amount credited is smaller than what the sender paid. Fees for incoming transfers vary per bank. On invoices, it is common to state who bears the costs, so that nobody is left short.

How long does an international transfer to First Financial Bank take?

An international transfer usually needs anywhere from one to several business days – it depends on currency, route and the banks in between. Bank holidays in either country add extra days. Occasionally a bank asks what the payment is for.

If a transfer is late, contact the sending bank for the status and the transaction reference. Money transfer services usually provide a status in their app so you can see where the payment is.

If the money does not arrive after a few business days, the person who paid needs to start with their own bank. Request from the sender the payment receipt with the date and reference – it helps your own bank look for the money.

US Dollar (USD) and conversion costs

United States pays in the US Dollar, with the currency code USD. A payment in a foreign currency will be exchanged into USD before it reaches the account. You rarely see a separate charge for that conversion.

Which bank converts the money makes a difference: every bank has its own margin. Check what USD arrives via different services; the difference between options can be larger than you expect.

The rate for USD fluctuates constantly and quotes are often valid only for a short time. With bigger transfers, a seemingly small difference in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Changed bank details? Be careful

Fraudsters often send payment requests with new bank details, sometimes in an email that looks completely genuine. A correct SWIFT code tells you nothing about whether the request is genuine: scammers use real codes of real banks.

Never rely on contact details from the same email that announces the new account. Pressure and requests to keep it quiet are warning signs – a real supplier can wait a day. When a payment was sent to a fraudster, contact your bank immediately: the sooner they act, the better the chance of a recall.

People receiving money are targeted too: a classic trick is a buyer who pays too much and then sends a request to refund the difference abroad. A payment confirmation from the sender is no proof – check your own account.

About this information

The codes on this page are taken from public sources. Even so, banks merge, rename themselves or change codes, so information can be out of date. The figures on this page reflect what is in our directory and not on information from First Financial Bank itself.

See our directory here as a helpful check and rely on the recipient or First Financial Bank for the final confirmation. GoldexPay is independent of First Financial Bank, we only compare transfer services. If you notice something that is out of date, we welcome a short note.

Head office or branch code at First Financial Bank?

With 2 codes in 2 cities, First Financial Bank is one of the banks that register separate codes for parts of the organisation and departments. The main code is FFBCUS3CXXX.

For most incoming transfers, the head office code FFBCUS3CXXX is what you need. Branch codes are only needed if the account holder explicitly asks for it.

When in doubt, ask the person you are paying which code their bank gave them. Codes for branches are more likely to be retired than the head office code when a bank merges or closes offices.