The Bundesbank's Bankleitzahl rules govern allocation, amendment and deletion of Germany's bank sort codes. Its quarterly directory supports institution routing and BIC derivation from German IBANs, helping payment providers handle bank changes without reusing deleted routing records.
TL;DR:
- The Bundesbank allocates, modifies and deletes Germany’s bank sort codes.
- The sort-code file identifies domestic payment-service providers and supports routing updates.
- Official extended data and the public download have different access and reliance conditions.
Summary
Purpose and Scope
The Bundesbank's Bankleitzahl rules govern allocation, amendment and deletion of Germany's bank sort codes. Its quarterly directory supports institution routing and BIC derivation from German IBANs, helping payment providers handle bank changes without reusing deleted routing records.
Administration
Under its agreement with the German banking industry, the Bundesbank administers bank sort codes for domestic payment-service providers. Institutions must report additions, deletions and changes using the specified forms. Maintaining the directory connects institutional changes with current payment-routing information.
Files and IBAN Information
The file is available in ordinary and extended forms. The extended version includes Field 14 for IBAN-rule codes, supporting the handling of German IBAN construction and related bank information.
Access and Reliance
The official update service is delivered through the Bundesbank’s secure Next platform, with registration available to eligible organisations. The unextended internet file is posted on a non-binding basis and subject to a disclaimer.
Keywords
- Bankleitzahl
- Germany
- Bundesbank
- Routing Data
- Bank Codes
- Directory Updates
- IBAN Rules
- Payment Providers
- BIC Mapping
- Reference Files