Glossary of foreign exchange terms
We don't like jargon any more than you do.
But if you do come across a technical term, hopefully this glossary will help clear things up.
When making a money transfer to the USA, you’ll need to ask for your payee’s ABA number.
An ABA number, also known as a bank routing number, is a nine-digit code that identifies banks in the U.S.
IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It’s a standardised way to identify a bank account and it’s used to facilitate the processing of cross-border transactions without error. It consists of up to 34 characters.
This is an example format of a UK IBAN number:
GB 29 ABCD 601*** 945*****
[Country code] [Check digits] [Bank code] [Branch code] [Bank account number]
Read our detailed guides for more:
SWIFT codes are not the same as sort codes.
A SWIFT code (sometimes also called a SWIFT number) is an international bank code that identifies banks all over the world for international payments. It is also known as a Bank Identifier Code (BIC).
A SWIFT code is a set of 8 or 11 characters (numbers and letters) that represents a bank branch, and is made up of the first three or all four of the following:
- Bank code
- Country code
- Location code
- Branch code
Read our guide to the difference between IBANs and SWIFT codes.
The date when a currency transaction takes places or a trade being booked.
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