The one-line answer
Being paid from inside the US? Give your routing number and account number. Being paid from another country? Give your bank's SWIFT/BIC code and your account number. Chase puts it this way: "SWIFT codes are required for international transfers, while routing numbers are used for domestic U.S. transactions" (Chase).
Side by side
| Routing number (ABA) | SWIFT/BIC code | |
|---|---|---|
| What it identifies | A bank or credit union in the US | A bank or other organization anywhere in the world |
| Shape | Always 9 digits | 8 or 11 letters and digits |
| Who created it | The American Bankers Association | Registered under ISO 9362, with Swift as registration authority |
| Used for | Direct deposit, bill pay, transfers and wires inside the US | Wires that cross a border |
| Example | 021000021 (Chase, domestic wires) | CHASUS33 (Chase) |
Sources: Chase, Swift FAQ, Chase wire FAQ.
Wells Fargo says the same from the other side: the SWIFT code "is used instead of a routing number for international wire transfers" (Wells Fargo).
Why you cannot swap them
A sender abroad pays through their own bank, which sends a payment message over the Swift network. Swift carries messages, not money: Chase notes that SWIFT "isn't a financial institution and doesn't hold or transfer funds" (Chase). A message has to be addressed to a BIC. A 9-digit routing number does not fit the 8-or-11-character shape, so the sender's bank cannot use it as the address. The format checker shows the shape rule.
In the other direction, a payment between two US banks uses the routing number, as Chase's comparison says.
The wire routing number can differ from the one on your checks
Bank of America warns that some banks use different routing numbers for wires and for ACH transfers (Bank of America). PNC says incoming wires have a different routing number than the one shown on your account (PNC). Before you give out a number for a wire, use the one your bank labels for wires.
| Bank | Routing number the bank gives for wires | SWIFT/BIC for wires from abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Chase | 021000021 | CHASUS33 |
| Bank of America | 026009593 | BOFAUS3N (US dollars), BOFAUS6S (foreign currency) |
| Wells Fargo | 121000248 | WFBIUS6S |
| PNC | 043000096 | PNCCUS33 |
Each of the four codes was copied from a bank page opened October 26, 2026. The links, and more banks, are on US bank SWIFT codes.
What about IBAN and sort codes?
An IBAN identifies an account. A routing number and a SWIFT code identify a bank. Chase says it does not use IBANs (Chase), so a US account is identified by its account number. If you are paying into Europe, the payee will have an IBAN; see do you need a BIC?.
Common slips
- Giving the SWIFT code to a US employer for direct deposit. Payroll needs the routing number.
- Giving the routing number to a relative abroad. Their bank needs the SWIFT/BIC.
- Using the check routing number for an incoming wire at a bank that uses a separate wire number.
- Copying a code from an unofficial list. Take it from the bank's site or app, or check it in Swift's own search: finding a SWIFT code.