But if your asking customers to pay you via bank transfer they may request it. Swift issues the Business Entity Identifier or BEI for non financial corporations on the network. The BIC is required to be included in all messages between the banks using the Swift network. Convergence with BISAC The equivalent scheme in the North American book trade is the BISAC Subject Headings. It is not the only coding system for banks - individual countries also have their own sets of codes which are used to identify banks in national interbank business.

Country	City	Bank Name	Branch	SWIFT
Germany	Frankfurt	Fortis Banque Luxembourg SA	Fortis Banque Luxembourg SA	BGLLDEF1XXX