Great Western Bank SWIFT/BIC code

SWIFT/BIC code of Great Western Bank

The short code DOUCUS41 and the full code DOUCUS41XXX identify the same bank: Great Western Bank. The code does one job: it ensures that money from abroad ends up at the right bank. In daily life you mostly come across it on international invoices, in your banking app and on the account details that Great Western Bank provides.

On this page you can read what the code means, when it matters and which other details you need for a transfer to or from Great Western Bank. The BIC identifies a bank or branch, never a specific account.

8 or 11 characters: DOUCUS41 versus DOUCUS41XXX

Each SWIFT/BIC code starts with an 8-character core: a four-letter bank code, a two-letter country code and two characters for the location. The result is DOUCUS41.

Many banks and apps work with both lengths. If a form asks for eleven characters, use DOUCUS41XXX; if it wants eight, use DOUCUS41.

Enter the code as one block, in upper case and without spaces. Look out for O versus 0 and the letter I and the digit 1, a common source of typos.

When will the money arrive at Great Western Bank?

A SWIFT payment typically takes one to a few business days. Payments made late in the day or on weekends and holidays usually go out a business day later. Occasionally a bank asks about the purpose of a payment.

When a payment takes longer than expected, contact the sending bank for the status or the UETR. Keep your transfer receipt until the recipient confirms.

If a payment has not arrived within the expected time, the sender needs to contact their own bank rather than Great Western Bank. On the receiving end, you can look at your statements for a slightly lower amount because fees can reduce the amount.

Getting paid from abroad into a Great Western Bank account

A sender in another country will ask for a few details about your account, and missing ones are a common cause of delays. That means: your full name exactly as it appears on the account, your IBAN or account number, the SWIFT/BIC code DOUCUS41XXX (or DOUCUS41) and sometimes your address.

Some sending banks want the address of Great Western Bank in Omaha,ne. A typo in your account number is more trouble than it looks; copy them from your banking app rather than typing.

Money from abroad will not always land in full. Intermediary banks may deduct a fee, Great Western Bank may charge for incoming payments, and when currencies differ, an exchange rate margin comes on top. On invoices, it is common to state how the fees are split to avoid a shortfall.

Sending USD to Great Western Bank

United States uses the US Dollar (USD). If you send another currency gets converted at some point. Every conversion costs the amount, even when no fee is shown.

Where the conversion happens has an effect on how much arrives, as rates and margins differ per bank. Check how much USD the recipient gets via different providers; the difference between options can be larger than you expect.

The rate for USD fluctuates constantly, so the amount you see is usually only valid for a short time. For recurring payments, a slightly better rate add up over a year.

What a transfer from Great Western Bank abroad really costs

A bank transfer abroad costs rather more than the fee suggests. On top of a fixed fee, correspondent or intermediary banks can take a cut, and when the money changes currency, the bank often applies a rate that is less favourable than the real market rate.

The markup on the rate is often the largest cost, and it is easy to miss. Check their rate against the mid-market rate, the midpoint between buy and sell rates you see on financial sites.

Specialist money transfer services frequently use rates closer to the mid-market rate and lower fees. Before your next transfer, it is worth to compare the total cost via GoldexPay. You can still use your account at Great Western Bank to fund the transfer, while a cheaper service handles the conversion.

Protect yourself against fake payment requests

One of the most common tricks goes like this: an email arrives with a message saying that a contact has new bank details and asking you to pay there from now on. A correct SWIFT code says nothing about who owns the account.

Never rely on contact details from the same email that announces the new account. Be suspicious of time pressure, odd spelling or an email address that differs by one letter. If money has already gone to the wrong account, contact your bank immediately: the sooner they act, the better the chance of a recall.

Scams also work the other way: someone claims to have sent too much and asks you to return the extra to a new account. A screenshot of a transfer is no proof; only your own account shows what has arrived.

Head office or branch code at Great Western Bank?

We have 2 SWIFT/BIC codes for Great Western Bank in 2 cities. Besides the head office code DOUCUS41XXX, there are codes for individual branches and departments.

For the vast majority of payments to a private or business account, the head office code DOUCUS41XXX works fine. Only use a branch code when the recipient gives you that exact code, for example on a letter or invoice.

The safest approach is to take the code directly from the recipient’s bank details. Codes for branches are more likely to be retired than the head office code.

How to check DOUCUS41 before you pay

Ask the recipient to copy the account details directly from their banking app. If the code you have differs from DOUCUS41 or DOUCUS41XXX, stop and ask: check with the recipient or with Great Western Bank directly.

A wrong SWIFT code may lead to a delay, a returned payment or extra fees. An error in the IBAN or account number is more serious.

A validity check by your bank merely confirms that the code exists – not that it belongs to the person you mean to pay. More and more banks compare the payee name with the account; take any warning seriously. A small test payment can be worth it for a large first payment, even if it costs an extra fee.

About this information

We collect SWIFT/BIC codes using public sources and check them from time to time. Even so, banks merge, rename themselves or change codes, so information can be out of date. The figures on this page reflect our own data, not official figures from Great Western Bank.

Treat the information here as a handy check, and let the details from the recipient or Great Western Bank have the final say. GoldexPay is an independent comparison service for money transfers and not part of Great Western Bank. Found an error? Let us know via our contact form.