Bank identification code: what a US bank means by it

Bank identification code: verified on the bank's own page

Ordering is a printed rule, not a rating: banks with more verified identifiers first, then alphabetically. Nothing here is ranked by how good a bank is.

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Nine digits, and what they are for

U.S. Bank gives the definition from the bank's side: "An ABA routing number is a nine-digit code assigned by the American Banker Association (ABA) that is used to identify financial institutions." PNC adds the aliases that trip people up: "Routing numbers are nine digit numbers that can also be referred to as banking routing numbers, routing transit numbers, RTNs, and ABA numbers." Four names, one number.

A bank can have more than one. The routing number printed on your checks is often not the one used for an incoming wire, which is why PNC publishes a separate figure for wires: "To set up an incoming wire transfer, you'll need to provide your account number and the following PNC Bank Routing Number: 043000096." Sending a wire to a check routing number is one of the commonest ways a payment goes astray.

Large banks also issue different routing numbers by state or by the bank the account was originally opened with, which is why a search for a specific nine-digit code often returns a city you have never banked in. The number is tied to where the account was opened, not to where you live now.

The ninth digit is a check digit computed from the other eight on a fixed weighting, so a mistyped routing number usually fails arithmetically before it ever reaches a bank. That is a shape test, not an identity test: it proves the number is well formed, never that it belongs to the institution someone named.

Questions people ask

Is bank identification code an official term in the US?

Not really. The official terms are routing number, routing transit number and ABA number; bank identification code is how people search for it, often after seeing BIC used in an international context. If a US bank asks for a bank identification code, it means the nine-digit routing number.

Where do I find mine?

Bank of America answers this directly for its own customers: "You can find your ABA routing number and your Bank of America account number in Online Banking or on the mobile app." Wells Fargo says the same of its own: "Routing numbers and account numbers are available in Wells Fargo Online." The check in your drawer works too.

Is a routing number the same as a SWIFT code?

No. A routing number moves money inside the United States. A payment arriving from abroad needs the bank's SWIFT/BIC code, and often a routing number as well for the final domestic leg.