Information about international settlements

Terms and conditions of European payments

• The payment currency is EUR.
• Payments can be made in any amount.
• The correct IBAN of the beneficiary is indicated on the payment.
• The service fee type is shared costs (SHA).
• European payment will be received by beneficiary´s bank on the same business day, if you forward your payment order to the bank until 4 pm.
• The beneficiary's bank is in a member state of the European Union and/or the European Economic Area (or Andorra, Gibraltar, Mayotte, Monaco, San Marino, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Switzerland, United Kingdom (including British isles: Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man) and Vatican City State).
• European payments enable you to send more than just the ordinary payment explanation to the beneficiary – you can also include the originator’s reference number and the identification code of either the originator or the beneficiary.

Member States of the European Union and the European Economic Area
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland (including Aland Islands), France (including French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Reunion), Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal (including Azores and Madeira), Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden and Spain (including Canary Islands and Ceuta and Melilla).

Other countries to which EU payments can be made
Andorra, Gibraltar, Mayotte, Monaco, San Marino, Saint Martin (French part), Saint Barthélemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Switzerland, United Kingdom (including British isles: Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man) and Vatican City State.

NB! The United Kingdom (UK) is no longer part of European Union, but remains in the Single Euro payments area and it will be possible to initiate and receive SEPA payments to and from UK. Important! Starting from January 1st 2021 payer address and BIC code need to be added to European payments. UK payments initiated from Swedbank will receive payer address and BIC code based on IBAN automatically.

Payments are transfered to the beneficiary's bank on a settlement day. A settlement day is a calendar day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, national or public holiday.

Restrictions in executing and performing international payments

Due to international sanctions, Swedbank’s decisions, requirements of correspondent banks, as well as the current geopolitical situation, Swedbank does not make or accept payments to the following countries: North Korea; Syria; Iran; Russian Federation; the territories of Ukraine's Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions not controlled by the Ukrainian government; Republic of Belarus; Cuba; Venezuela; Afghanistan. Read more about international sanctions.

The list of countries and regions to which payments will not be made from 01.09.2023 includes, among other countries (the list is not complete and may change over time): American Samoa; Anguilla; Aruba; Belize; Bhutan; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; British Virgin Islands; Brunei Darussalam; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Cook Islands; Djibouti; East Timor (Timor Leste); El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Eswatini (Swaziland); Fiji; Gambia; Grenada; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Haiti; Islamic Republic of Iran; Kiribati; Lesotho; Marshall Islands; Mauritania; Myanmar (Burma); Federated States of Micronesia; Montserrat; Nauru; Niger; Niue; Northern Mariana Islands; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Saint Helena; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Samoa; Sao Tome and Principe; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Sudan; Suriname; Tonga; Turks and Caicos; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; Wallis and Futuna; Western Sahara.

We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the term of executing payment transaction may be extended or blocked or frozen by Swedbank or by other banks that participate in the execution of a transaction (correspondent bank, bank of beneficiary or sender).

International Bank Account Number

IBAN always starts with the two-digit country code, which is followed by two check digits, a reference to the bank (local code of the bank) and the payee’s domestic account number.

Using IBAN reduces delays and errors in payments, because the bank that sends out the payment can check whether the international bank account number is correct before the payment leaves the bank.

To obtain your international bank account number, please use the IBAN calculator

Please note, if you or your company operates in the field of shipping or is connected to mentioned field, then according to international shipping area regulations it is mandatory to add following information to the field 'details of payment':

• M/V: name of the ship;
• IMO: international maritime organisation number;
• FLAG: flag state;
• OWNERSHIP: name of the owner;
• REGISTRATION: number and the country.

Otherwise, payment might be delayed since the missing details will be inquired from the bank of payer. If the payment is not in accordance with international standards (including the U.S. legal acts) the payment might be frozen in the correspondent bank.

Swedbank would like to draw attention to the fact that both the EU and the U.S. imposed broad (comprehensive) International Sanctions related to Crimea and Sevastopol regions. These sanctions cover restrictions and prohibitions on imports, exports, investments and financing in relation to these regions.

Due to the current situation, internal decisions and the risk policies of the main correspondent banks, Swedbank will not, as a rule, perform international payments (both outgoing and incoming) to these regions or related to these regions (i.e. beneficiary address is indicated in Crimea) in any currencies.

Swedbank would like to draw its clients’ attention to the fact that all payments in US dollars to Gazprombank, VEB, VTB, the Russian Agricultural Bank, the Bank of Moscow and Sberbank, any of their subsidiaries and foreign branches are at high risk of being frozen due to the prohibition on financing the USA has established on these banks.

The risk is high because payments associated with concealed financing are difficult to detect, as a result of which unforeseen misinterpretation and different handling by other banks cannot be ruled out.

For ordinary clients (i.e. not financial institutions) the high risk is associated with payments whose recipient (not the recipient’s bank) is listed above or whose payment explanation refers to financing or is directly or indirectly connected to a particular individual (e.g. an owner or representative) associated with a named subject.

In addition to the banks listed above, USD payments to the Donetsk and Lugansk regions of Ukraine also face a heightened risk of being frozen, since both the USA and the European Union have imposed sanctions on ‘national structures’ and related individuals in these areas.

The Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has set specific requirements for payments made to banks in the UAE. In addition to the usual information, the payment code must also be entered in the payment order details field. The code must be specified in the details field in the following format:

BENEFRES/AE/code/ Payment details and/or invoice number

The beneficiary must provide the payment code to the payer. In the absence of the required information, the foreign bank may reject the payment or send an additional request.

Code table is here.

From 31.01.2023, there are special requirements for payments to Malaysian banks. In addition to the usual payment information, the payment Purpose Code and clear transaction content description must be added to the payment order details field.

The code must be written in the details field in the following format:

POP space 5-digit Purpose Code space transaction content description

Example: POP 16791 Trade-related services

The beneficiary must provide the payment Purpose Code to the payer. In the absence of the required information, the foreign bank may reject the payment or send an additional request.

Purpose Code table is here.

From 20th of March 2023, it will be necessary to fill in the beneficiary's address field for these payment types:

• International payments outside EU/EEA (European Economic Area countries),
• payments in foreign currency (excluding Intrabank payments),
• payments within Swedbank Group in foreign currency,
• European urgent payments outside EU/EEA (European Economic Area countries).

Full address means the name of the street, city, and country. If the full address is not specified as required, or if the bank has reason to believe that the address is incorrect, the payment may not be executed.