Bank State Branch

A Bank State Branch (often abbreviated and used in conversation as "BSB") is the name used in Australia and New Zealand for a bank code, which is a branch identifier. Both countries use an identifier consisting of a six digit numerical code that identifies an individual branch of an Australian and New Zealand financial institution. The BSB is normally used in association with the bank account number. However, the New Zealand and Australian systems are incompatible. For international transfers a SWIFT identifier is used in addition to the BSB identifier and a bank account number.

The use of the BSB identifier in association with bank account numbers was introduced in the early 1970s with the introduction of MICR on cheques to mechanise the process of data capture by the banks as well as for mechanical sorting of the physical cheques for forwarding to the payer bank branch for final cheque clearance. Since then the BSB code has been extended for use in electronic transactions, but is not used with financial card numbering.

In Australia, the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA) is the regulatory body of the BSB codes in Australia. The identifier consists of six numerals, the first two or three of which is a bank identifier. APCA assigns the bank code to a financial institution and the financial institution allocates the other digits to its branches, in line with guidelines set by APCA. As of March 2012, almost 14,300 unique BSB code values are in use.

Usage

In Australia, BSB codes are allocated by the Australian Payments Clearing Association (APCA). BSB codes are used in a number of payment systems in Australia:

Paper transactions

Cheques are the most common payment method in Australia. BSB and bank account numbers appear on cheques and are used to identify the specific bank account number to be debited. BSB codes are also used on deposit and other vouchers. Paper transactions are processed under the Australian Paper Clearing System (APCS) (also known as CS1) drawn up by APCA. Account instructions which do not have a BSB code must be processed manually.

Electronic transactions

Electronic fund transfers between bank accounts use the Direct Entry system. For transfers using the Direct Entry System, BSB and bank account numbers must be given for the accounts to be debited as well as for the account to which funds are to be transferred. Electronic transactions are processed under the Bulk Electronic Clearing System (BECS) (also known as CS2) drawn up by APCA.

Internationl transactions

For international transfers, a SWIFT identifier is used in addition to a BSB and bank account number.

Format

In both Australia and New Zealand, the format of the BSB code originally was for the first two digits to indicate the "bank" and the other four digits to specify the "branch" of that financial institution. In Australia, the major banks have at least historically structured their branch codes with the first of the four digit branch code indicating the state where the branch was located. Some of the larger banks have two bank codes. This is largely historic, a legacy from the time when banks maintained separate trading (cheque) and savings entities. The first digit of the bank code was either 0 (for trading bank accounts) or 1 (for savings bank accounts), with a common second digit. For example, 03 was for Westpac's trading accounts, while 73 was for Westpac's savings accounts. This distinction is now of only historic significance.

For example, the Australian BSB code "033088" breaks down to:

• 03 = Westpac Banking Corporation, historically the trading operation
• 3 = Victoria
• 088 = 383 Chapel Street, Prahran

Today, with the recognition of many new financial institutions in Australia, the structure of the BSB has had to be modified. While banks generally still follow the state branch structure, building societies and credit unions often do not. Many smaller financial institutions are now identified by the first three digits of the BSB with the "state" field being part of the "bank" identifier. Building societies and former ones start with 63xxxx and credit unions 80xxxx. The state code structure is not always used - e.g. Bendigo Bank which started as a building society in Victoria has code 633xxx, and the Queensland based Heritage Building Society has 638xxx. A financial institution may also use one centralised BSB for all accounts. Suncorp uses 484799 for all deposit accounts regardless of which branch or state the account was opened in. St George Bank does something similar to Suncorp.

List of Australian Bank codes

List of State codes

The major banks structure their BSB codes according to States. This is largely historic and have only limited significance in electronic banking. For those who maintain State codes, the State code is the first of the four digit branch field and are:

• 2 - Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales
• 3 - Victoria
• 4 - Queensland
• 5 - South Australia, Northern Territory
• 6 - Western Australia
• 7 - Tasmania

See also

• Bank card number
• ISO 9362, the standard for SWIFT codes, international bank idientifiers
• List of banks in Australia
• Sort code, a number used in the United Kingdom that is similar to the BSB

External links

• Australian Payments Clearing Association Limited (APCA), the body that regulates BSB numbers
• Look up BSB Numbers on the Official APCA web site (constantly updated)