The BICPlusIBAN utility

The BICPlusIBAN utility provides a way to look-up BIC or IBAN information in the published directory. This utility can be used within domestic converter maps based on the samples provided in the pack, or implemented in an application map separate from individual message processing.

For example, the utility could be used within an application map to prepare, in advance, a subset of the BIC-IBAN information if not all of the countries or institutions represented in the directory were required in a particular SEPA implementation.

For any IBAN specified in a payment, directed to any SEPA country, by using the utility along with the BICPlusIBAN directory you are able to lookup the associated BIC to be used in the SEPA payment. The lookup function also returns those BICs that cannot be simply derived from the national bank code included in the IBAN. You can also validate the BICs, and the IBANs and their relationships in your outgoing SEPA payments. The utility is based on the specifications provided by SWIFT to accommodate the varying lengths and other requirements of the fields within the IBAN. Conversely, you can also use the utility to do a BIC lookup based on a particular IBAN.