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🇧🇯 Sending to Benin

BJ · BEN · +229 · WAEMU

XOF

IBAN optional   SWIFT BIC required

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Required information

  • IBAN or domestic account number

    IBAN strongly recommended. See account format for details.

  • SWIFT BIC

    Beneficiary bank BIC (8 or 11 characters).

  • Purpose-of-payment code (strongly advised)

    Free-text purpose in words (no code list)

  • Beneficiary address

    Match the address template — partial addresses cause holds.

For your end users

WAEMU country: payments > 5M XOF must be deposited at a local authorized intermediary. Payments > 100M XOF require BCEAO central-bank approval - expect documentation delays.

Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-20. Reference material only.

  • Currency

    XOF

  • Typical settlement

    1-2 business days under 5M XOF; 5+ days for amounts requiring BCEAO approval (>100M XOF).

  • SWIFT BIC

    Required

  • Local clearing

    STAR-UEMOA / SICA-UEMOA (BCEAO)

Account format

How beneficiary account numbers are structured for Benin. Failure to match this format is the single most common reason wires are rejected at the destination.

Field Value
Format tier IBAN optional (recommended)
Length 24 characters (BJ + 22); also expressed as 5-digit bank code (incl. BJ) + 5-digit branch + 12-digit account + 2-digit Cle RIB
Validation regex ^BJ[0-9A-Za-z]{8}[0-9]{14}$
Example BJ1234567890123456789012

IBAN Composition

Component Length Example
Country Code 2 BJ
Bank Code 5 11B00
Branch Code 5 61010
Account Number 12 040027110119
Cle RIB 2 25

Routing identifiers

Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for Benin.

Field Value
SWIFT BIC Required
Branch identifier Required
None Optional
Local clearing STAR-UEMOA / SICA-UEMOA (BCEAO)

Address format

How Benin expects the beneficiary address to appear on the wire. Free-form variations frequently trigger compliance holds.

  1. Recipient name
  2. Street Address or P.O. box number
  3. City/Town
  4. BENIN (all caps)
Field Value
Postal code Optional — this country has no postal code format
Example Koffi Azon
Rue de l'Indépendance 123 or B.P. 789
Cotonou
BENIN

Purpose of payment

Put the purpose in the remittance information (<RmtInf><Ustrd>) of the ISO 20022 wire-creation request, as the code format below describes. Requirement: Highly recommended GIB check: a missing or unexpected purpose is reported as a validation warning; the wire is not held.

Not yet confirmed

We have not yet confirmed this country's purpose-of-payment requirement against a central-bank or correspondent-bank source. Including a purpose is recommended. We update these guides as we confirm each country.

Non-standard element

For Benin, the purpose is placed in <RmtInf> (remittance info), not the standard <Purp> element.

Field Value
Code format Free-text purpose in words (no code list)
Authoritative source ↗ View source

Remittance info

Extra content the regulator requires inside the free-text remittance field, beyond the purpose-of-payment code.

Clearly identify economic reason (e.g., "For rent", "For utilities").

Compliance triggers

Beneficiary tax-ID requirements and rules that activate at certain payment amounts.

Trigger Requirement
Residency restrictions Beneficiary must be an onshore resident.

Operational notes

Field Value
FX minimum (USD) $100
Currencies accepted XOF
Typical settlement 1-2 business days under 5M XOF; 5+ days for amounts requiring BCEAO approval (>100M XOF).
Banking holidays ↗ Calendar

Known issues:

  • Not registered in the SWIFT IBAN Registry. The 'BJ + 22-char' format is a national BBAN with a country prefix, not a true IBAN - MOD-97 IBAN check-digit validation will not apply, and SWIFT may strip or warn on the prefix.

Common rejection reasons

Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.

Missing supporting documentation for payments > 100M XOF - BCEAO central-bank approval required and not obtained.
Beneficiary not declared at a local authorized intermediary for payments > 5M XOF.
Missing economic-reason purpose statement.
Beneficiary not an onshore resident.
Beneficiary name mismatch.

Validate before you send

Check identifiers before you submit. The IBAN check runs in your browser (format plus the ISO 13616 MOD-97 check digit). GIB's API checks the IBAN format for countries where an IBAN is required. The BIC lookup searches GIB's BIC directory and needs a dashboard login.

IBAN check

Format: ^BJ[0-9A-Za-z]{8}[0-9]{14}$ · MOD-97 (ISO 13616) check digit verified locally.

BIC lookup

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References

First-party sources — central banks, FX regulators, ISO registries. Always re-verify against these before pushing volume to a new corridor.

Disclaimer

These country guides aggregate information from central banks, regulators, and industry-standard references. Global Innovations Bank reviews them on a rolling cadence and notes the verification date on each page. Payment-corridor rules change between releases, so we cannot guarantee continued accuracy.

Always verify against the primary sources linked in the References section before going live in a new corridor. Re-check applicable sanctions lists (OFAC, EU, UK, UN consolidated, and any state-level requirements) at the time of payment, since designations shift between our refreshes.

For fintech partners on GIB's sponsor-bank rails, these guides do not replace your BSA/AML, KYC, sanctions-screening, or transaction-monitoring obligations under your program agreement with GIB.

Nothing in this material constitutes legal, tax, or regulatory advice, and wire-acceptance decisions remain at the discretion of GIB Compliance and the destination bank.

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