Czech Republic: SWIFT/BIC Codes & Payment Info

Overview

Remitter should obtain all required bank information from the Beneficiary (e.g. SWIFT BIC, IBAN, and beneficiary bank address). For additional information, please refer to the Central Bank.

Country Requirements/Restrictions

• Czech Republic is a member of the European Union and is adopting the payment practices of the EU, although it has not adopted the Euro.
• Funds movement greater than CZK 1,000,000 involving resident and non-resident legal entities and funds transfers on residents’ accounts abroad must be reported to the Central National Bank.
• Residents and non-residents are permitted to open and maintain domestic and foreign currency accounts both locally and abroad.
• SEPA standards apply for euro payments to beneficiaries with accounts in the Czech Republic, but do not apply to Czech koruna payments.

Payment Formatting Rules for CZK

• Ordering Customer (SWIFT MT103 F50): Include account number, full name (no initials), and address of the ordering customer. Use of initials can delay receipt of funds by the beneficiary.
• Beneficiary Customer (SWIFT MT103 F59): Include account number (IBAN), full name (no initials), and address of the beneficiary customer. Use of initials may delay receipt of funds by the beneficiary.
• Beneficiary Bank (SWIFT MT103 F57): Include the SWIFT BIC with branch identifier (where required), full name, and address of the beneficiary bank. There are no specific bank clearing codes for this country for cross-border payments. SWIFT BIC is key to routing payments to the beneficiary bank. SWIFT BIC is 8 or 11 alphanumeric characters: xxxxCZxx or xxxxCZxxxxx. If the payee’s account is at the same bank as the payer, same-day settlement takes place. For interbank credit transfers, crediting can sometimes take as long as three working days.

Use of IBAN numbers is highly recommended. If an IBAN is not used, the 16-digit CZK account number is required. IBAN is required for all EUR payments subject to SEPA standards. Domestic services are offered to all Czech Republic banks. However, not all banks are authorized to transfer payments abroad.