SWIFT/BIC codes in United States: banks starting with S

SWIFT/BIC codes in United States

This overview covers 3498 banks and other institutions in United States, with 5781 SWIFT/BIC codes in total. Every code points to a bank or a specific branch or department.

Select the bank from the list to see the head office code and any branch codes, plus practical notes for sending and receiving money. The sections below explain the structure of the codes, the cost of transfers and how to avoid mistakes before a payment.

The largest SWIFT network in United States: Citadel Investment Group, L.l.c.

In our directory, Citadel Investment Group, L.l.c. holds the largest number of SWIFT/BIC codes in United States. The head office of Citadel Investment Group, L.l.c. has CITGUS44XXX.

Many codes often means separate codes for branches, departments or services, not necessarily that the bank is the biggest in the country. If not a branch code is given, the head office code CITGUS44XXX works for transfers to this bank.

How reliable is this list?

The best place to find the right code is a document from the bank itself, such as a statement or the account page in online banking. If the code you have differs from the code listed here, stop and ask: check with the recipient or the bank.

Our SWIFT/BIC directory is based on publicly available sources. Even so, banks merge, rename themselves or change codes and our data may lag behind. Before any payment that matters, confirm the BIC with the recipient. GoldexPay is not a bank.

Watch out for invoices containing a new account. A valid BIC says nothing about whether a request is genuine: criminals use real codes too.

Filter: banks in United States with :letter

This list shows only the banks in United States whose name starts with :letter in alphabetical order. The totals on this page cover all 3498 banks.

If the bank you need does not appear here, try another letter. Try the full list for United States when you are not sure how the name is spelled.

Sending money to United States for less

An international bank payment to United States often costs more than the fee suggests. On top of the fee, correspondent banks can take a cut, and when the money is converted the bank usually applies a less favourable rate than the actual market rate.

Most of the cost usually sits in the exchange rate, rather than in the fee – the bank builds a margin into its rate. Check the bank’s rate with the mid-market rate, the midpoint you see on financial news sites.

Specialised transfer providers often use rates closer to the mid-market rate and lower fees. Before your next transfer to United States, it is worth comparing the total cost on GoldexPay instead of going straight to your bank.

What a sender needs to pay you in United States

A sender in another country needs several details from you – incomplete details often cause delays. Give them your name as registered with the bank, the IBAN or account number, your bank’s SWIFT code and your address, which some banks require.

Look up the bank in the list on this page to check its code – your bank statement is the final word. Some sending banks also ask for the name and address of your bank; it does no harm to include it.

What lands in your account can be less than what was sent. Fees for incoming transfers differ per bank. For business payments, agree how the fees are split.

International payments to United States and the BIC

For United States you usually need a SWIFT/BIC code – United States is not a SEPA country. Without the BIC, most banks will not process the payment at all.

In some countries, accounts are identified by a domestic account number rather than an IBAN and sometimes a local routing or branch code. Ask the recipient exactly which details their bank needs for incoming international payments – many banks give clear instructions for this. Before it arrives, a transfer can go through correspondent banks that charge for their part.

The structure of a United States SWIFT/BIC code

Each SWIFT/BIC code has eight or eleven characters, always in the same order. Characters one to four stand for the bank, characters five and six are the country code and the next two give the location.

You can recognise a bank code from United States from the fifth and sixth characters – those always form the country code of United States. Codes with other letters in that position come from another country, even if the bank name looks familiar.

The long version ends in a branch code – XXX stands for the head office. For most transfers the head office code is what you need.

Sending USD to United States

United States pays in the US Dollar, code USD. If you send money in a different currency, it has to be converted somewhere along the way: by your bank, an intermediary or the receiving bank.

Which bank converts the payment makes a difference. Often you pay less to send USD straight away via a transfer service that converts near the mid-market rate so the receiving bank does not need to convert again. On larger amounts, even a small gap in the rate can be worth more than the fee.

Tracking a payment to United States

A SWIFT payment to United States usually takes anywhere from one to several business days – it depends on currency, route and the banks in between. Public holidays in either country can add a day or more, because banks do not process payments on those days.

A growing number of banks use SWIFT gpi, which lets them follow a payment from bank to bank. Each gpi transfer gets a unique reference, the UETR. Save the payment confirmation until the money has arrived – you will need it if something goes wrong.