下面是wikipedia的英文解释：

“ISO 9362 (also known as SWIFT-BIC, BIC code, SWIFT ID or SWIFT code) is a standard format of Bank Identifier Codes approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It is the unique identification code of a particular bank. These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international wire transfers, and also for the exchange of other messages between banks. The codes can sometimes be found on account statements.

The overlapping issue between ISO 9362 and ISO 13616 is discussed in the article International Bank Account Number (also called IBAN).

The SWIFT code is 8 or 11 characters, made up of:

• 4 characters – bank code (only letters)
• 2 characters – ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code (only letters)
• 2 characters – location code (letters and digits) (if the second character is ’1′, then it denotes a passive participant in the SWIFT network)
• 3 characters – branch code, optional (‘XXX’ for primary office) (letters and digits)

Where an 8-digit code is given, it may be assumed that it refers to the primary office.

SWIFT Standards, a division of The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), handles the registration of these codes. For this reason, Bank Identifier Codes (BICs) are often called SWIFT addresses or codes.

There are over 7,500 “live” codes (for partners actively connected to the BIC network) and an estimated 10,000 additional BIC codes which can be used for manual transactions.”

SWIFT CODE一般由8位或11位数字组成。前4位是银行名称的简写。5.6两位是国别.7.8两位是城市名称.如果只有前8位的,是该银行的总行.9,10,11这最后三位是该银行的分行的代码. swift code 在汇款中占据着很重要的位置,所以无论您是打算汇款,还是将自己公司的银行资料传给客户,都应该有SWIFT CODE. 国际金融贸易中,为方便各不同国别银行之间的业务交流运作,SWIFT 应运而生,主要是各银行之间所使用.