Ziraat Bankası (Ziraat Bank) SWIFT — TCZBTR2A & Branch Codes

Ziraat Bankası branch SWIFT codes

Because Ziraat has more branches than any other Turkish bank, a single head-office BIC is often not enough — the sending bank may ask for the branch that holds the account. The table below lists representative Ziraat branch BICs built from the TCZBTR2A base plus a 3-character branch suffix. Use the head-office code TCZBTR2A when in doubt; pick a branch code when the sending bank requires it or when you want faster routing to a specific city.

⚠️ Branch codes follow the public TCZBTR2A + 3-char pattern. Exact branch identifiers change over time and differ by account — always confirm the specific branch BIC with the recipient's Ziraat branch before sending funds.

Why Ziraat matters for cross-border transfers into Turkey

Ziraat Bankası was founded in 1863 as a state agricultural cooperative and is still majority state-owned, which makes it the bank of first resort for many Turkish households, farmers, and small businesses. Its branch footprint reaches deep into Anatolia — cities like Konya, Kayseri, Samsun, and Trabzon, where private banks have a thinner presence. For senders routing remittances to family in those regions, a Ziraat account is often the only realistic destination, so knowing the right Ziraat BIC and pairing it with a valid 26-character Turkish IBAN is the difference between a transfer that lands the same day and one that stalls for manual routing.

Internationally, Ziraat also operates branches and subsidiaries in Germany, the UK, and the Balkans, but for a standard personal wire into Turkey the domestic head-office BIC TCZBTR2A is the code to use. The IBAN always identifies the exact account, so as long as the IBAN is correct, the head-office BIC will route correctly — the branch code is an optimization, not a requirement.

Turkish IBAN example for a Ziraat transfer

Every Turkish IBAN is 26 characters and starts with TR. The five digits after the check digits are the bank code, which for Ziraat is 00061. Here is a sample Turkish IBAN you can use to test a payment form before sending a real transfer:

How to send an international remittance to Ziraat Bankası

Ziraat receives a large volume of family remittances and agricultural-business payments, so a sender should collect the beneficiary details before opening a wire form. Ask the recipient for the exact legal name, address, 26-character Turkish IBAN, currency, and the BIC their branch currently gives to international customers. The head-office code TCZBTR2A is normally enough because the IBAN identifies the account, but the recipient should say so explicitly if their branch has a different eleven-character code.

1. Choose an international SWIFT transfer and enter TCZBTR2A, or the confirmed 11-character branch BIC, in the receiver-bank field.
2. Enter the beneficiary's Turkish IBAN without spaces. The IBAN must start with TR and contain 26 characters; validate it before submitting.
3. Use the beneficiary's name and address exactly as recorded by Ziraat. Do not replace the legal name with a family nickname, company trading name, or an abbreviated village name.
4. Select the currency and ask your bank whether a correspondent BIC is required. USD, EUR, GBP, and TRY can use different correspondent routes and cut-off times.
5. Review charges (OUR, SHA, or BEN), purpose-of-payment text, and any invoice or source-of-funds documents required for a cross-border payment into Turkey.
6. Save the transfer reference. If the payment is delayed, the sending bank can provide a SWIFT trace or MT103 reference that Ziraat's international-payments team can search.

Ziraat-specific checks and common mistakes

Ziraat remittance scenarios and arrival timing

A family member sending money to a Ziraat account in a smaller Anatolian town usually does not need to identify the local branch. The Turkish IBAN carries the bank and account information, so TCZBTR2A is generally accepted by the sender's bank. A branch BIC is more useful for a business payment, trade-finance document, or a sending bank whose compliance form insists on an exact office. The beneficiary should obtain that code from the branch rather than copy a suffix from a search result.

Timing varies with the sending country, currency, correspondent, and cut-off hour. A weekday EUR payment can arrive sooner than a USD payment that needs a US correspondent; a TRY payment may be held for additional purpose or regulatory information. Turkish public holidays and the sender's local holidays can both delay value dates. The BIC only tells the network where to deliver the message; it cannot promise same-day credit to the account.

For a first payment, the recipient should send one complete instruction sheet containing the legal name, address, IBAN, BIC, currency, and a short payment purpose. Ask the sender to copy that sheet into the wire form and to avoid changing the beneficiary name to match an email signature. If Ziraat requests an invoice or source-of-funds document, provide the same reference used by the sender. Consistent names and references help the bank match an incoming remittance to the right customer account.

If the quoted arrival window passes, the sender should request a trace from the originating bank first. The trace identifies whether the message reached a correspondent, was repaired because of a missing field, or was returned. The recipient can then contact Ziraat with the trace reference, account IBAN, and expected amount. This sequence is safer than changing the BIC or sending a duplicate, which can create two separate compliance cases and make recovery harder.

Ziraat Bankası SWIFT code FAQ

What is the SWIFT code for Ziraat Bankası?

The head-office SWIFT/BIC code for Ziraat Bankası is TCZBTR2A (11-character form TCZBTR2AXXX), identifying the bank's head office in Ankara, Turkey. Use it as the receiver-bank BIC when you send an international wire to a Ziraat account. For a transfer into a specific city, a branch-specific BIC from the table above may route faster — confirm with the recipient's branch.

Is TCZBTR2A an 8- or 11-character SWIFT code?

TCZBTR2A is the 8-character primary (head-office) BIC. TCZBTR2AXXX is the 11-character form, where XXX marks the primary office in Ankara. Any other 3-character suffix (e.g. 987 for Istanbul) is a branch code — append it to the 8-character base to target a specific Ziraat branch.

Why is Ziraat Bankası common for cross-border transfers into Turkey?

Ziraat Bankası is Turkey's largest state-owned bank and runs the widest domestic branch network, with a strong presence in smaller cities and rural areas. Many recipients outside Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara bank with Ziraat because it is the institution with a branch nearby, so a large share of personal remittances into Turkey end up at a Ziraat account. Using the correct Ziraat BIC plus the recipient's 26-character TR IBAN is the most reliable way to reach those accounts.

Do I need a Ziraat branch code or is the head-office BIC enough?

For most personal wires the head-office BIC TCZBTR2A (or TCZBTR2AXXX) is enough — the receiving bank routes to the account from the IBAN. A branch-specific BIC matters when the sending bank requires an exact branch, or when you want the funds to land at a specific Ziraat branch faster. When in doubt, send TCZBTR2A and the full TR IBAN, and confirm with the recipient's branch.

What IBAN do I use with a Ziraat SWIFT code?

Use the recipient's 26-character Turkish IBAN, which starts with TR. The IBAN identifies the account at Ziraat; the SWIFT/BIC identifies Ziraat as the bank. Validate the IBAN with the IBAN validator on this site before sending, and confirm both the BIC and IBAN with the recipient.