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IFSC (Indian Financial System Code)

RBI publishes a list of all RTGS/NEFT branches in Excel sheets. We are in sync with this data as much as possible. We scrape data from specific bank websites wherever we find it relevant. We try to maintain an exhaustive list as much as possible. Also, please note that the existing IFSC code may be removed in certain cases.

Every IFSC code starts with a 4-character bank code, followed by a reserve character (0 for now), and then followed by 6 alphanumeric digit. Also, Large banks sublet their codes to smaller banks resulting in the same first 4 characters for many banks. In this case, the bank will have one bank code but a different first 4 characters in the IFSC code. Another catch here is that the same bank can have many bank codes based on how the bank has evolved over time.

IFSC issuance process

  • RBI issues 4 letter codes. It ends in X for banks not connected to the RBI payments/settlement system
  • Banks inform RBI of IFSC for each branch
  • Banks inform NPCI of IFSC for each branch separately
  • Issuance of each branch IFSC is the sole responsibility of the bank
Some interesting facts about other codes

Another code that is usually attached to a bank is MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) which is printed on all the cheques. It is represented by 9 digits - the first 3 digits represent the city, the next 3 the bank and the last 3 the branch. This code helps automated systems to parse these cheques. We try to provide MICR in our API responses

Another code used to represent the banks is IBAN (International Bank Account Number). It mandates a combination of 18 digit account number (can be alphanumeric), 4 digit bank code, 2 digit country code and 2 check digits. If the account number currently is not 18 digits append it has to be padded with 0s on left. IBAN = IN + Check Digit + Bank Code + Account Number

There are 11 different kinds of banks in India:

  • Public Sector Banks (PSB)
  • Private Sector Banks (Private)
  • Foreign Bank
  • Payment Bank (PB)
  • Small Finance Bank (SFB)
  • Regional Rural Bank (RRB)
  • District Co-operative Central Bank (DCCB)
  • State Co-operative Bank (SCB)
  • State Urban Co-operative Bank (S-UCB)
  • Urban Co-operative Banks (O-UCB)
  • Local Area Bank (LAB)