Payment Data
BIC (Bank Identifier Code)
Definition
The BIC (Bank Identifier Code), also known as the SWIFT code, is an international bank identification code (ISO 9362) that uniquely identifies a bank or financial institution worldwide. It consists of 8 or 11 characters. On electronic invoices, the BIC can be provided in BT-86. Within the SEPA area, the BIC has not been mandatory for private individuals making IBAN transfers since 2016.
Switch to German:BIC (Bank Identifier Code) (DE)
Related terms
IBAN (International Bank Account Number)The IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is an internationally standardised account number (ISO 13616) that combines a sort code and account number in a uniform format. In Germany, the IBAN consists of 22 characters (DE + 2 check digits + 18-character BBAN). On electronic invoices, the payee's IBAN is specified in BT-84 when bank transfer is selected as the payment method.Business Term (BT)A Business Term (BT) is a single, semantically defined data element of the European standard EN 16931. Each Business Term has a unique number (e.g., BT-1 for the invoice number, BT-9 for the payment due date), a name, a definition, and cardinality rules. Business Terms are syntax-independent and are mapped to different XML elements in UBL and CII.EN 16931EN 16931 is the European standard that defines the semantic data model of a core invoice. It specifies the mandatory and optional fields (Business Terms), their meaning, and the validation rules that apply to all conforming electronic invoices in the EU. Nationally implemented standards such as XRechnung, ZUGFeRD (EN 16931 profile), and Factur-X must comply with this standard.