I walked into the bank to transfer money to an obscure bank in the US. The only information I had was the receiving bank's Wire Routing Number, Swift Code and Account Number. They don't have an IBAN number . The bank teller says she cannot transfer Switzerland's precious money to an obscure US bank without the bank's IBAN number. (Okay, I'm exagerrating).

But couldn't the IBAN be found with the information I already have? Is the teller just dragging her feet? How else can I transfer to the bank without an IBAN number?

For some reason, US banks have not adopted IBAN standards. I regularly send to Wells Fargo and Bank of America and have to go through the process of entering BIC and SWIFT and trying to figure out which branch I am sending to.

Ridiculous and backward, if you ask me. Maybe the banking crisis will kick US banking into the 21st century. Speaking of which, are you not able to use your (Swiss?) bank's online portal to send your transfer? Much easier...

fduvall

Thanks. How did you find the bank's BIC? Isn't this and the branch already in the SWIFT? Shouldn't the teller know about this?

Is there a logical conversion from SWIFT-BIC to IBAN?

I've turned off online access to my account because of distrust.

If you Google 'IBAN calculator' you will find several sites and this may help you.

When dealing with the US I use a credit card. Saves the hassle.
For a larger amount; credit your card first, then charge the card a few days later.

J.L-P courier at your service Phos.

You really don't need IBAN for US transfers. I have done it a couple of times ( through BCV and Credit Suisse). Account number and complete bank information (Swift and/or just name and address) will work just fine.

As an alternative I suggest Western Union.

No logical conversion to IBAN that I know of. Again, I do not think US banks use them at all.

To find the BIC/Swift, you can usually go to the banks website and search for Int't transfer info. I can also search on Credit Suisse (online) for you, if you want to send a PM with the Bank and the branch address.

fduvall

What? Then why wouldn't the teller let me do it? Do you mean to say she could have done it?

I have the BIC/Swift. I need the IBAN so the teller can initiate the transfer.

She might not have known that IBAN isnt used in the US.

I transfer money to Bank of America regularly with no problems and only have the BIC/SWIFT # - I'd say the teller just doesn't know what she's doing or isn't familiar with transferring money to the US.

With BCV I just transfer the money from their website and don't even have to deal with a teller.

with so many banks having 'changes' I triple check all details. However, not many banks have IBAN, only the major banks. This may be deliberate so that what comes into the country is controlled, it goes through a major bank and then onto your routing number. Another problem is getting the rate for the day, there agsain as far as I know the smaller bank agrees through the bigger bank.

My Swiss bank manage is wonderful, so efficient, gives advice and even pays compliments. When in doubt go to the Swiss.

How J? You meanl I have to do is give you the cash, and you take care of the rest?

... like everybody else said, U.S. doesn't use IBAN. You need BIC/SWIFT, which you can get off the bank's Web site or the Interweb.

I frequently sent money to the U.S. from CS using only BIC/SWIFT and acct no, and it worked fine.

I send money from Credit Suisse without an IBAN. Simply
use the Routing Number( 9 Digit Number ) and Account Number.

You then note the transfer to a US Bank. Do other banks do
the same?

As others have said, I think the teller did not know what she was doing. The bank CAN do it with the BIC/Swift code and the account number. I think that banks are also required to ask for the address of the person/org receiving the funds.

From the BofA website, " The IBAN is comprised of a maximum of 27 alphanumeric characters within Europe and a maximum of 34 outside of Europe (German IBAN: 22 characters). At present, the United States does not participate in IBAN. Therefore, Bank of America does not have an IBAN number."


Try a different teller or ask for a manager.

I went again today. This time, the teller made the transfer. I know I've done this a number of times before. But I thought the new bank had a new anti-american policy. It turned out to be the teller's inexperience.

Wow, EnglishFourm is the best source for information! I just searched all over the internet for info on how to transfer money to Canada from Europe. I'd found out some things, but then I stumbled across this thread in the middle of a Google search. The information here is way more useful than that in all of the other sources I found put together. Thanks a lot, guys! I should have tired EF first, but I searched globally instead since this seems to be a more Europe-wide problem instead of being Swiss-focused.

Here's a bit more info for people trying to transfer cash to Canada, which is again different from the US in this regard. Wikipedia has a useful page on Routing_transit_number, including a section on Canadian transit numbers. Here's the useful info:

This EFT code for Canada then appears to be comparable (at least it is in the same 9-digit format) as the routing codes in the US. I have also figured out the SWIFT/BIC code through some other websites (the 8-digit and 11-digit versions), so hopefully I now have all that I need.

Still one more problem though - I cannot find a way to make the transfer using online banking with UBS without an IBAN number. Has anyone had any success doing this? People above appear to have suggested that they can, but did not explain exactly how they did so. If not, I will have to go into the bank and find someone there who believes me that I can do the transfer without the IBAN number (the woman I spoke to 2 days ago seemed to think that I couldn't, but now I know better than her).

Depends where

If making a payment to a European country, you'll need an IBAN.
North America doesn't use IBAN.
If you have the 9 digit code routing code + the account nb the bank teller should be able to help you make your payment