For banking in the United Kingdom and Ireland, sort codes are domestic bank codes: a six-digit number assigned to each bank to route domestic fund transfers. Sort codes provide a standardised identifier for banks and branches, ensuring transactions are directed to their intended destinations.

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What is Sort Code?
In the UK and Ireland, sort codes are domestic bank codes:
a 6-digit number assigned to each specific bank for
domestic fund transfers.

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Origin of Sort Codes
Sort codes were introduced in the late twentieth century
to accurately identify the source and destination of bank
cheques during a period of high usage.
This practice trickled into wire transfers and
identifying the sender and receiver banks.

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Decoding a Sort Code
22
City Code
33
Branch Code
Bank Code
11

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How does it work?
Bank & Branch Identification:
Verifies authenticity of sender and receiver.
Account Routing:
Sort Codes guide the transaction to the right bank as
accuracy is crucial for successful transactions.

5. Where can you find your Sort Codes?
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Bank Statement
Behind your banking card
Contacting your bank
Bank’s website
Search Engines

6. Sort Code vs SWIFT Code
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Sort Codes SWIFT Codes
Used only in UK and Ireland
Sort codes identifies individual banks
and branches within them, facilitating
domestic payments, direct debits,
and standing orders.
Usually displayed in a three-part format:
XX-XX-XX, with each "X" being a digit
from 0 to 9.The paired digits specify bank
code, city, and branch codes respectively.
Used Internationally
Identifies financial institutions
worldwide
A SWIFT code is 8-11 characters
(numbers and letters) long and denotes
the title, country, location and branch
of a financial institution.
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-
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-
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7. Always remember to input the correct sort codes for smooth
and fast domestic transactions in the UK and Ireland!
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