SWIFT Code Grounding Data

Overview

A SWIFT code lookup API, SWIFT bank API and BIC lookup that gets bank data from a SWIFT code in one call. Pass an 8 or 11-character SWIFT/BIC code to retrieve the institution's name, branch, city and two-letter country code; an 8-character code also lists the branches under it. Or run a SWIFT code search by institution name to find its codes across branches. The directory holds about 113,000 BIC records from the public ISO 9362 list, covering 232 countries and territories, and each search returns up to 25 matches with a count.

Live Test SWIFT Code Grounding Data Source →

The tool

Once your client is connected to the VerveContext server, this appears in its tool list as SWIFTCodeGroundingData. It is read-only and open-world — it fetches and never mutates anything on your side — so most clients call it without asking you to confirm.

{
  "name": "SWIFTCodeGroundingData",
  "arguments": {
    "swift": "CHASUS33ARP"
  }
}

You do not name the tool yourself; the model picks it. Asking about CHASUS33ARP in the terms this source covers is enough for it to reach for SWIFTCodeGroundingData on its own — naming it explicitly also works, and is the way to force the call.

Connecting

One server URL covers every source in the catalog, including this one. Authorization is OAuth: the client opens a browser once, and there is no key to paste into a config file.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "vervecontext": {
      "url": "https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp"
    }
  }
}

https://api.vervecontext.com/v1/mcp

Per-client setup — Claude, Cursor, VS Code, ChatGPT — is on the MCP setup page.

Arguments

These are the properties on the tool's inputSchema, so a well-behaved client validates them before the call is made. Premium arguments are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

What the model gets back

The result carries a structuredContent object matching the tool's declared outputSchema, so a client reads fields without parsing prose. status is "ok" and error is null on success; a null field means the value was not available for that input, not that the call failed.

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "count": 1,
    "banks": [
      {
        "bank": "JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A.",
        "city": "NEW YORK,NY",
        "branch": "ACCOUNT RECONCILIATION PROCESSING",
        "swift_code": "CHASUS33ARP",
        "country": "United States",
        "country_code": "US",
        "is_eu": false,
        "is_eea": false,
        "is_sepa": false,
        "bic_details": {
          "bank_code": "CHAS",
          "country_code": "US",
          "location_code": "33",
          "branch_code": "ARP",
          "bic8": "CHASUS33",
          "bic11": "CHASUS33ARP",
          "is_primary_office": false,
          "is_test_bic": false
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Why ground on it

A model can produce something that looks like this answer from its training data, and be confidently out of date or simply wrong. This source returns the current value in a shape you can check, which is the difference between an answer you can cite and one you have to hedge.

Point an evaluation at count: it is the field most worth pinning a claim to, and it is either present and current or absent — never plausibly invented.

Failure modes

Errors come back as tool errors carrying a sentence the model can act on, not a bare status code. Error handling covers the full list.

A call costs 10 credits each time the tool actually runs; a model that reasons about the tool without calling it costs nothing.

Use cases

Cross-Border Wire Verification

Before initiating an international wire, billing platforms verify the recipient's SWIFT code matches the intended legal entity and destination country.

Vendor Onboarding Form

Auto-fill the bank name, branch city, and country code as soon as a supplier enters their SWIFT code during payment registration.

Branch Code Discovery

Accounting software helps treasury operators locate missing branch SWIFT codes by querying institutional names across international divisions.

Bank Country Screening

Risk engines cross-check the SWIFT country code against sanction lists to flag transfers directed to prohibited financial jurisdictions.

Other ways to use SWIFT Code Grounding Data

Set up SWIFT Code Grounding Data on VerveContext, or reach the same source a different way. Your VerveContext account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

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