Editorial & Correction Policy
Operational Standards & Data Governance · Last Reviewed: July 28, 2026
1. Scope and Independence
swiftbic.org is an independent online reference registry providing free search, validation, and educational resources covering international bank routing identifiers (ISO 9362 BICs) and account number formats (ISO 13616 IBANs). The platform is completely independent and has no financial, legal, or commercial affiliation with SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication), central banks, or commercial clearing houses. To maintain free public access to our lookup tools, swiftbic.org generates operational revenue through dataset licensing for software developers and enterprise inquiries, as documented on our Pricing Page and Enterprise Solutions Page. Advertising and affiliate links, when present, are clearly labelled and strictly segregated from our editorial data curation.
2. Sourcing Standards
All data published on swiftbic.org must originate from publicly verifiable, documented primary or open community sources. We adhere to a strict "registered source only" mandate: no bank code, routing rule, or format mask is added to our dataset based on anonymous tips, unverified submissions, or algorithmic speculation. Every underlying data source is catalogued in our public Data Sources Register, complete with exact retrieval dates, license types, and coverage limits.
3. Verification and Provenance Labelling
Data integrity is managed at the individual record level rather than through broad regional generalizations. During monthly data build cycles, incoming records are validated against ISO 9362 structural rules (4-char institution, 2-char ISO country code, 2-char location code, optional 3-char branch code). Records sourced directly from official central bank directories (such as the Deutsche Bundesbank BLZ file or SIX Interbank Clearing Bank Master) receive an official provenance flag and timestamp (2026-06-26). Records originating from open community datasets are explicitly marked as community-sourced (2024 vintage).
4. Honest Omission & Gap Labelling
When official coverage is incomplete or unverified for a specific country or bank, swiftbic.org never fills missing fields with plausible-looking synthetic placeholders. Gaps in our official registry coverage are labelled plainly as "coverage in progress" or "community-sourced". As an example of our honest omission standard, our technical team evaluated the Polish Narodowy Bank Polski (NBP) EWIB registry (DATA_SOURCES.md S9); although EWIB is an official Polish banking file, it maps domestic clearing numbers without ISO 9362 SWIFT/BIC codes. Consequently, we excluded it from ingestion rather than misrepresenting its contents.
5. Correction Policy and Error Reporting
We welcome reports of outdated information, incorrect bank name mappings, or broken branch associations from financial institutions and users. To submit a correction:
- Submit full details using our Contact Form.
- Provide official documentation or link to the bank's public website verifying the code change.
- Our editorial team acknowledges all legitimate correction submissions within 5 business days.
- Verified corrections are staged and incorporated into the next scheduled monthly database build.
6. YMYL (Your Money Your Life) Editorial Stance
Because bank routing codes govern international wire transfers, accuracy is paramount to preventing financial loss. However, swiftbic.org operates strictly as an informational reference registry. We explicitly remind users that listing in our directory does not guarantee live network connectivity or account active status. Users must ALWAYS confirm the exact SWIFT/BIC code, beneficiary name, and account details directly with the receiving bank before dispatching wire transfers.
7. Governance and Review Schedule
This Editorial & Correction Policy is reviewed quarterly by our registry engineering team. Revisions to our sourcing standards or verification pipelines are published immediately with an updated review date.