Russian Federation — SWIFT/BIC Codes & Payment Info

Payment requirements for Russian Federation:

• Remitter should obtain all required bank information from the Beneficiary (e.g., SWIFT BIC, account number, and beneficiary bank address).
• The Central Bank of Russia coordinates payments and settlements and payments are sent by batch multiple times daily. Settlements within the same region are done on the same day, while payments to different regions may take up to three business days.
• Payments in Russian ruble exceeding RUB 100mm need to be routed via the real-time gross settlement system called Banking Electronic Speed Payment System (BESP).
• There are no restrictions on payment types, but for payments exceeding USD 5,000, beneficiaries may need to open a passport at the local bank.
• Residents must notify tax authorities of any foreign-maintained accounts.
• Cross-border payments require support documentation submitted to the Russian correspondent bank before releasing payments.
• Payment instructions must include all country-specific information. This is mandatory along with the standard remittance information to avoid cancellation of the RUB payment.
• Ordering Customer must include account number, full name (no initials), and address. Incorrect details can delay the receipt of funds by the beneficiary.
• Include accurate and clear purpose of payment, invoice agreement date, and NDS (VAT) amount. If VAT is included, the amount is needed. If not, include “NO VAT.”
• Make RUB payments with charge indicator 'OUR' for best practice.

Beneficiary Customer (SWIFT MT103 Field 59): Include the beneficiary’s 20-digit account number, full name, address, and individual tax payer number (INN).
Line 1:
Account Number (20 digits)
Line 2-3:
Remitter Name
Line 4:
City, Country
Line 5:
INN Code
If there is only one beneficiary bank (Russian bank) and beneficiary, include the beneficiary customer’s 20-digit account number in this field. If an intermediary is used, the 20-digit account number of the beneficiary bank should be included in SWIFT MT103 F57. First name, family name, and patronymic name must be included. Use of initials can delay receipt of funds by the beneficiary. Companies must include full name as well as legal ownership (e.g. LLC, JSC). INN is the taxpayer’s identification code assigned by the Russian Tax authority. The length of this code varies based on the type of beneficiary. If the beneficiary is an individual, this field is optional and consists of 12 digits. If the beneficiary is a Russian legal entity, this field is mandatory and consists of 10 digits. If the beneficiary is a foreign legal entity, this field is mandatory and consists of 5 digits or 10 digits, depending on whether or not the foreign legal entity conducts business in Russia. If the payment is a tax payment, then the reason code KPP should be included in SWIFT MT103 F59. SWIFT MT103 F70 may be used for the telephone number.
Beneficiary Bank (SWIFT MT103 Field 57): Include the BIK, 20-digit account number, and SWIFT BIC of the beneficiary bank. BIK, formerly known as MFO, is a nine-digit number that the Central Bank of Russia gives to all Russian banks. The last three digits are the same as the correspondent account of the bank with the Central Bank of Russia. The format for the nine-digit BIK and twenty-digit account number should read: /RUXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. If there is an intermediary bank in SWIFT MT103 F56A, make sure F57A includes the 20 digit account number of the beneficiary bank as well as the SWIFT BIC. SWIFT BIC is 8 or 11 alphanumeric characters: xxxxRUxx or xxxxRUxxxxx.
Intermediary Bank (SWIFT MT103 Field 56): If an intermediary is being used, include the bank’s SWIFT BIC in SWIFT MT103 F56A. If the intermediary does not have a SWIFT BIC or if the BIC is not available to you, include the intermediary bank’s BIK, name, and 20-digit account number.
Reason for Payment (SWIFT MT103 Field 70): Purpose of the payment must be clearly identified. The field must start with VO and the numeric code of the transaction. The VO code relates to the payment purpose. This should be followed by the payment details (e.g., contract references). Format: (VOXXXXX). No spaces or special characters allowed between 'VO' and digits. This code may be in any line of field 72 of MT202 or field 70 of MT103. Example: VO60070 FX trade dated 10/20/09 contract ref: AF12123.
For Tax Payments: Include additional fields:

• Status of Tax Payer (SWIFT MT103 Field 26T): Include 3-digit Tax payer status code, possible options are from ‘S01’ to ‘S15’.
• SWIFT MT103 Field 77B should be formatted as:
  • Line 1: /N10/2!a/N4/20n
  • Line 2: /N5/11n/N6/20c/N7/10x
  • Line 3: /N8/15x/N9/10x
  Data for N4, N5, N6, N7, N8, N9, N10 provided by ordering customer/remitter.
• Back value is prohibited on RUB payments.
• The Bank of Russia acts solely as the runner of the National Payment System (like RTGS), not as an intermediary bank. Their SWIFT BIC or an account number should not be present in field 56.
• Code of budget classification is a 20-digit number.
• OKATO Code is an 11-digit code.
• Specify the reason for tax payment using two digits, e.g., TP for current year payment, ZD for paying off indebtedness for previous taxation periods.
• For taxation period, use the format 2!c.2!n.4!n (10 symbols, e.g., KV.02.2008), where you specify the period of payment like MS for monthly, KV for quarterly, etc.
• Number for the period: 2!n; for monthly - month number (01 to 12), for quarterly - quarter number (01 to 04), for semi-annual - 01 or 02, for annual - 00.
• The year for which the payment is made is a 4-digit number.
• Specify the tax document number (up to 15 digits) and the tax document date in the format DD.MM.YYYY.
• Use a 2-digit code for the type of tax payment, e.g., NS for payment of tax or levy, PL for making payment, GP for payment of dues, etc.