What is the difference between Swift Code and Sort Code?

The most observable difference between swift and sort code is the location in which they are used. England and Ireland are the only countries where Sort code is being used. It is used as a means of identifying banks that are located within the country and also their respective branches. While swift code, On the other hand, is used all around the globe, and it is the primary means for international money transfers.

One cannot employ the use of sort codes in transferring funds even to Ireland or England if one is in another country because it would lack the proper code of identifying the country. Swift codes basically have around 8 or 11 characters long, which could be alphanumeric, which means that it can contain both letters and numbers. While, sort codes, in contrast, are just simply 6 characters long and they strictly contain numbers only.

Swift code and sort codes are two ways to identify a particular bank. These are used for wiring money transfers to detect the source and the target. The key distinction between swift and sort codes is where they are used. Sort code is only utilized by England and Ireland to distinguish banks established within the country and their branches. On the other hand, swift code is employed around the world and is the essential means for international money transfers.

You cannot sort codes to shift assets even to England and Ireland if you are in another country, as there would not be the appropriate code to identify the country. It is easy to determine the code because there are critical differences between them in terms of length and composition. Swift codes are typically 8 to 11 characters long and alphanumeric.