SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) is the messaging network that more than 11,000 banks use to send standardised payment instructions across borders. The BIC encodes the bank (4 letters), the country (2 letters), the location (2 characters) and optionally the branch (3 characters). For example UBSWCHZH80A is UBS, Switzerland, Zurich, branch 80A.
Together with the IBAN, the BIC tells the network where a payment should land. Inside the Single Euro Payments Area the BIC is now optional thanks to the IBAN-only rule, but for payments to or from non-SEPA countries (USA, UK after Brexit, most of Asia) the BIC is still required.
International SWIFT payments typically take 1–5 business days and carry fees on both sides plus possible intermediary bank charges. For frequent cross-border transfers, alternatives like Wise, Revolut or local correspondent-bank arrangements often deliver the money in hours at a fraction of the cost. Always confirm the BIC with the receiving party — guessing the location code is a common source of misrouted payments.
A US freelancer invoices a Swiss client for USD 5,000. The client sends a SWIFT payment via UBS using BIC UBSWUS33XXX (UBS New York). The wire arrives in 2 business days. UBS charges CHF 5, the intermediary bank deducts USD 15 and the recipient's US bank takes USD 20 — total cost roughly USD 40.