🇻🇪 Sending to Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)¶
VE · VEN
Restricted — sanctions FATF grey list National format SWIFT BIC required
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Sanctions Restrictions
GIB does not process payments to this destination. Submissions will be blocked by sanctions screening. Any exception requires written pre-authorization from GIB Compliance before submission.
FATF Increased Monitoring
This jurisdiction is on the FATF list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring. FATF does not call for enhanced due diligence on that basis, but asks institutions to take the listing into account in their risk analysis.
Required information¶
For your end users
This country is subject to comprehensive sanctions. Wires may be blocked, returned, or held by screening. Consult your compliance team before initiating any transfer.
Last reviewed by GIB compliance on 2026-05-21. Reference material only.
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Currency
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Typical settlement
1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review.
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SWIFT BIC
Required
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Local clearing
SEC — Sistema Electrónico de Cámara (Banco Central de Venezuela) — sanctioned
Account format¶
How beneficiary account numbers are structured for Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). Failure to match this format is the single most common reason wires are rejected at the destination.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Format tier | National format |
| Length | 20-digit domestic account number; first 4 digits identify the bank per BCV / Sudeban bank code list |
| Validation regex | ^[0-9]{20}$ |
| Example | 01020123450000123456 |
Routing identifiers¶
Which routing codes the wire-creation API call must include for Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| SWIFT BIC | Required |
| BCV / Sudeban bank code | Required |
| Format | 4-digit numeric prefix |
| Directory | ↗ Source |
| Local clearing | SEC — Sistema Electrónico de Cámara (Banco Central de Venezuela) — sanctioned |
Address format¶
How Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) expects the beneficiary address to appear on the wire. Free-form variations frequently trigger compliance holds.
- Recipient Name
- Avenida / Calle, Edificio, Piso
- Urbanización, Municipio
- Ciudad, Estado
- Postal Code
- VENEZUELA
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Postal code | Optional — validated against the format below when provided |
| Postal code regex | ^[0-9]{4}$ |
| Example | 1010 |
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: Mandatory
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 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), the purpose is placed in <RmtInf> (remittance info), not the standard <Purp> element.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Code format | Free-text; OFAC authorization basis should be cited where relevant |
Operational notes¶
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Currencies accepted | VES |
| Typical settlement | 1-2 business days typical; longer for cross-border with FX or compliance review. |
| Banking holidays | ↗ Calendar |
Known issues:
- OFAC program: VSR (Venezuela Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 591); underlying E.O. 13692, 13808, 13827, 13835, 13850, 13857, 13884.
- Comprehensive but license-driven framework: numerous active general licenses (GL 5S/5T on PdVSA 2020 8.5% bond, GL 41B Chevron wind-down, GLs 47-50 issued May 2026 on the Venezuelan oil sector).
- PdVSA is a Specially Designated National; any entity 50 percent or more owned by PdVSA is blocked.
- Petro digital currency prohibited under E.O. 13827.
- EU sanctions (Council Decision 2017/2074 / Regulation 2017/2063) and UK OFSI Venezuela regime also apply.
- Wires require OFAC compliance pre-clearance plus verification that the specific transaction falls within an active, unexpired GL or a specific license.
Common rejection reasons¶
Documented patterns that cause this country's banks to return wires. Universal reasons (sanctions holds, missing BIC) aren't repeated here.
All wires subject to sanctions screening hold and compliance review.
Beneficiary name mismatch.
Missing or invalid SWIFT/BIC code.
Insufficient remittance information.
Beneficiary or beneficiary bank on OFAC / EU / UN / UK sanctions list.
OFAC SDN match: Government of Venezuela, PdVSA, Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV), Banco de Venezuela, Banco Bicentenario, CITGO, and CVG block.
50 percent rule capture via state-owned entities.
Counterparty linked to revoked or wind-down GLs (Chevron JV transactions outside GL 41B wind-down).
Petro (PTR) / any state digital-currency reference (prohibited under E.O. 13827).
Bolivar Soberano (VES) volatility and parallel-rate (DolarToday) ambiguity in amount fields.
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.