More of us are using automated payments, whether that means making an internet payment via our online banking or using a Direct Debit to pay a regular bill. Although there is a strong correlation between BIC Codes and sort codes, sort codes are not explicitly encoded into BIC codes.
One of the design aims of the IBAN was to enable as much validation as possible to be done at the point of data entry. BACS - Details of the branch's participation in BACS clearing service
CHAPS Sterling - Details of the branch's participation in CHAPS Sterling clearing service
Banks' SWIFT and SORT CODES
To facilitate the efficient clearing and settlement of inter-bank payment instruments throughout the country, cheques and other debit payment instruments have been standardized to make them amendable to automated processing. The sort code, which is a six-digit number, is usually formatted as three pairs of numbers, for example 12-34-56. Each record on the ISCD has 82 fields.