Are BIC and SWIFT code the same things?
IBAN -> is International Bank Account Number. The number is constructed in such a way that it uniquely identifies your account in the world. I.e. it has a country in it, Bank (and branch) and the actual account number. This is an international standard adopted by the EU, Australia and NZ. Going forward it would be sufficient to just quote the IBAN for payment without any other details. BIC, SWIFT Code, SWIFT BIC, SWIFT ID [all mean the same] is a Bank Identifier Code [More correctly Business Identifier Code] that is again an International standard and used on all International payments. The SWIFT BIC is constructed as   Hence SWIFT BIC can be 8 Chars or 11 Chars. The additional 3 Chars help bank identify the Branch where the account is held and where the payment needs to be made. So LOYDGB2L is the main head office  If your branch is, say, in Canary Wharf, the SWIFT BIC would be LOYDGB21 [21-> Canary Wharf] with a 3 digit branch added. BIC and IBANN are used in EU (and some other OECD countries) for inter bank transfers. SWIFT is used everywhere for interbank transfers. In the US - IBAN system is not (yet, hopefully) available, so you have to use SWIFT. The codes may look the same, but these are different systems. More details here.
Actually, that's impossible; such laws would (and do) constitute prior restraint of trade - no city council would enact such a law, as it's asking for a lawsuit, and is patently illegal and legally indefensible.  In the state of California, the state vehicle code says very specifically that municipalities may ONLY regulate food trucks (or any kind of otherwise legal mobile vendor) for purposes of public safety and health; they cannot legislate competition, or enact laws that favor one type of (established) business against another type of (new, usually) business.  This is why the past 8 lawsuits against municipalities, asking that time limits etc. be abolished, have all been won - either at first or in appeal (and in the case of LA, both) on behalf of the truck operators ... there is no way to argue that a 15 minute or 30 minute limit benefits public health/safety but a 2 hour limit does not.  Laws that say the trucks can't park too near an intersection as they may block drivers' view, that sort of thing is fine - it can easily be argued that such regulation benefits public safety. Same thing with the trucks around schools - as long as other types of large vehicles are also restricted. I contacted Virgin Money to ask if the prepaid card you mentioned offers a Swift/BIC code, and they gave me this response: We do not have a Swift or BIC number for the Virgin Prepaid Card. You are unable to transfer funds from the Prepaid Card to another bank but you can set up a bank transfer to the Prepaid Card. Once you receive your card you can log onto your online account and you will have a form you can print off. On the form you will have an account number, sort code and a unique reference number for your bank to set up the transfer. This may work for your purposes, or it may not. If you want more information about that specific card, your best bet is to contact them and ask any other specific questions you have. The same strategy should work for any prepaid card company. Just call or email them, describe your situation, and ask if their card will work. After transferring, do we need to file any forms to IRS regarding money transfer?  Not immediately. Do we need to file any forms in US as part of tax returns for this transfer? In case the recipient and the sender are not the same person, the recipient must attach form 3520A to his/her tax return. If you are transferring between your own accounts - you're good to go. However, this NRE account must have been reported on your FBAR and form 8938 attached to your tax return. Do we need to inform my local bank in USA regarding the transfer in advance?  You probably want to confirm the transfer instructions with them (SWIFT instructions, routing info, etc). 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(I'm a bot) ***** &gt; The main Russian bank working in Russian-occupied Crimea and one other have been informed that the company providing their connection to the SWIFT network will terminate its services from 31 August.  &gt; According to one of the sources, RNCB and Tempbank differ from most other Russian banks, in that the crucial technology required for the SWIFT connection is provided by Finastra and not by SWIFT directly.  &gt; In its excuses for not disconnecting Russian banks, SWIFT claimed that &amp;quot;Being EU-based, SWIFT complies fully with all applicable European law&amp;quot;.   ***** [**Extended Summary**](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/6x7fik/russian_banks_cut_off_from_swift_for_working_in/) | [FAQ](http://np.reddit.com/r/autotldr/comments/31b9fm/faq_autotldr_bot/ ""Version 1.65, ~201908 tl;drs so far."") | [Feedback](http://np.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%23autotldr ""PM's and comments are monitored, constructive feedback is welcome."") | *Top* *keywords*: **SWIFT**^#1 **bank**^#2 **Russian**^#3 **Finastra**^#4 **international**^#5" Literally the same drivers in the same cars (since it's the same licence to be able to drive for them) and Cabify quotes you a fixed price and I like the interface better. It's just far less useful when traveling as it tends to be only really useful in Spain. The reason is in your own question. The answer is simple. They use that code to tax the product otherwise it would just be out of pocket expenses. No. You can initiate SWIFT payments from Bank A, whenever Bank A is open for business. The transaction takes around 2-5 days for it to complete depending on the currency pair and countries involved. Once you initiate the payment, the Bank A sends it to SWIFT Network which in turn send it to Bank B. Whenever Bank B is open for business it would process the payment. I don't believe they're right. For international wire transfers you'd need either IBAN or SWIFT codes. I don't think any US bank participates in the IBAN network (mostly Europe and the Far East), so SWIFT is they way to go with the US. Credit unions frequently don't know what and how to do with international transactions because they don't have them that often. Some don't even have SWIFT codes of their own (many, in fact) and use intermediaries to receive money.