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🇪🇨 Sending to Ecuador

EC · ECU

USD

National format   SWIFT BIC required

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Required information

  • Account number

    Domestic account numbers are typically 8-12 digits and vary by bank. For interbank SPI transfers, a 20-digit CCI (Codigo de Cuenta Interbancaria) is used: 3-digit bank code + 3-digit office code + 12-digit account + 2 check digits.

  • SWIFT BIC

    Beneficiary bank BIC (8 or 11 characters).

  • Bank Code (4 digits) + BIC/SWIFT for cross-border

    4-digit BCE-assigned bank code for domestic SPI (e.g. 0001 = BCE); 8/11-char BIC for cross-border (e.g. BCENECEQXXX)

  • Purpose-of-payment code (strongly advised)

    Free-text narrative on cross-border wires; BCE collects purpose data via separate balance-of-payments forms (Formulario de Declaracion de Divisas) for amounts above thresholds, not via SWIFT field 70/72.

  • Beneficiary address

    Match the address template — partial addresses cause holds.

For your end users

Double-check the beneficiary's full name (no initials), account number, and bank SWIFT/BIC against what their bank has on file. International wires can take 1-5 business days and may be delayed by sanctions screening.

Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-21. Reference material only.

  • Currency

    USD

  • Typical settlement

    Same/next business day intra-zone; 1-2 days for non-zone correspondents.

  • SWIFT BIC

    Required

  • Local clearing

    SPI — Sistema de Pagos Interbancarios (Banco Central del Ecuador) — fully dollarized

Account format

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

Field Value
Format tier National format
Length Domestic account numbers are typically 8-12 digits and vary by bank. For interbank SPI transfers, a 20-digit CCI (Codigo de Cuenta Interbancaria) is used: 3-digit bank code + 3-digit office code + 12-digit account + 2 check digits.
Validation regex ^[0-9]{8,12}$
Example 2100123456

Routing identifiers

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

Field Value
SWIFT BIC Required
Bank Code (4 digits) + BIC/SWIFT for cross-border Required
Format 4-digit BCE-assigned bank code for domestic SPI (e.g. 0001 = BCE); 8/11-char BIC for cross-border (e.g. BCENECEQXXX)
Directory ↗ Source
Local clearing SPI — Sistema de Pagos Interbancarios (Banco Central del Ecuador) — fully dollarized

Address format

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

  1. Recipient Full Name
  2. Street + Number + Intersection (cross-street common)
  3. Sector/Barrio
  4. 6-digit Postal Code
  5. City
  6. Province
  7. ECUADOR
Field Value
Postal code Optional — validated against the format below when provided
Postal code regex ^[0-9]{6}$
Example Juan Perez, Calle El Comercio 123 y Av. Amazonas, 170150 Quito, Pichincha, ECUADOR

Purpose of payment

Put a code from the ISO 20022 list in <Purp><Cd> (purpose_code). 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.

Field Value
Code format Free-text narrative on cross-border wires; BCE collects purpose data via separate balance-of-payments forms (Formulario de Declaracion de Divisas) for amounts above thresholds, not via SWIFT field 70/72.
Authoritative source ↗ View source

Operational notes

Field Value
Currencies accepted USD
Typical settlement Same/next business day intra-zone; 1-2 days for non-zone correspondents.
Banking holidays ↗ Calendar

Known issues:

  • Fully dollarized since 2000; all domestic and inbound accounts denominated in USD — no local-currency conversion needed.
  • ISD outflow tax (5% as of 2024) on outbound wires is a recurring source of dev confusion; some sectors and amounts exempt under Codigo Organico Monetario y Financiero.
  • No IBAN; CCI is interbank-only and not used for SWIFT messaging — SWIFT wires use the native account number + BIC.
  • BCE operates SPI for domestic clearing; cross-border arrives via correspondents and is credited to local USD account.

Common rejection reasons

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

Beneficiary name mismatch (initials, abbreviations, punctuation, or transliteration differences from what the beneficiary bank has on file).
Account number format error (wrong length, wrong check digits, or non-standard characters).
Missing or invalid SWIFT/BIC code.
Insufficient remittance information (unclear economic reason for the payment).
Sanctions or compliance hold (OFAC / EU / UN / local screening).
ISD (Impuesto a la Salida de Divisas / Foreign Currency Outflow Tax, currently 5%) applies to outbound transfers; rejections common if tax-withholding agent (paying bank) cannot apply or net the tax.
Beneficiary RUC/cedula required for amounts above SRI reporting thresholds.
Account-name mismatch with SPI registry (CCI cross-validation).

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.

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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