IFSC Code, MICR Code and SWIFT Code

1) INDIAN FINANCIAL SYSTEM CODE
The Indian Financial System Code (IFS Code or IFSC) is an alphanumeric code that facilitates electronic funds transfer in India. A code uniquely identifies each bank branch participating in the two main Payment and settlement systems in India: the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and the National Electronic Fund Transfer (NEFT) systems.

FORMAT

The IFSC is an 11-character code with the first four alphabetic characters representing the bank name, and the last six characters (usually numeric, but can be alphabetic) representing the branch. The fifth character is 0 (zero) and reserved for future use.

Bank IFS Code is used by the NEFT & RTGS systems to route the messages to the destination banks/branches.
The format of the IFS Code is shown below.
SBIN0015660

2) MAGNETIC INK CHARACTER RECOGNITION
MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. It is a technology which allows machines to read and process cheques enabling thousands of cheque transactions in a short time.

FORMAT
MICR code is usually a nine digit code comprising of some important information about the transaction and the bank.

The first three digits in the MICR code represent the city code that is the city in which the bank branch is located. In most cases it is in line with the PIN code of the postal addresses in India.
The next three digits stand for the bank code
the last three digits represent the bank branch code.

3) SWIFT CODE
ISO 9362 defines a standard format of Business Identifier Codes (also known as SWIFT-BIC , BIC code , SWIFT ID or SWIFT code ) approved by the

International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
It is a unique identification code for both financial and non-financial institutions. 

The acronym SWIFT stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication . The ISO has designated SWIFT as the BIC registration authority. When assigned to a non-financial institution, the code may also be known as a Business Entity Identifier or BEI . These codes are used when transferring money between banks, particularly for international wire transfers , and also for the exchange of other messages between banks. The codes can sometimes be found on account statements.

FORMAT
The SWIFT code is 8 or 11 characters, made up of:
•4 letters: Institution Code or bank code.

•2 letters: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code

•2 letters or digits: location code
if the second character is "0", then it is typically a test BIC as opposed to a BIC used on the live network.
if the second character is "1", then it denotes a passive participant in the SWIFT network
if the second character is "2", then it typically indicates a reverse billing BIC, where the recipient pays for the message as opposed to the more usual mode whereby the sender pays for the message.

•3 letters or digits: branch code, optional ('619' for primary office)