SWIFT
Business & Finance abbreviation · Banking
| Stands for | Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication |
|---|---|
| Categories | Business & Finance |
SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, a banking abbreviation.
Member-owned cooperative based in Belgium that runs the secure messaging network banks use to send international payment instructions and other financial messages. More than 11,000 institutions in over 200 countries and territories are connected to it.
Example: The wire will go through SWIFT, so allow two to three business days for it to reach the Singapore account.
Usage notes
Founded in 1973 and headquartered in La Hulpe, near Brussels. SWIFT transmits instructions but does not hold or move funds itself; settlement happens through correspondent bank accounts. Its identifier codes, popularly called SWIFT codes, are formally Business Identifier Codes (BICs). Several Russian banks were disconnected from SWIFT in 2022 as a sanction.
Related abbreviations
More banking abbreviations
- A/C – Account
- ABA – American Bankers Association (routing number)
- ACH – Automated Clearing House
- ALLL – Allowance for loan and lease losses
- ALM – Asset-liability management
- AML – Anti-money laundering
- ATM – Automated teller machine
- BACS – Bankers' Automated Clearing Services
- BG – Bank guarantee
- BHC – Bank holding company
- BIC – Business Identifier Code
- BIN – Bank identification number