What is an ABA routing number?

An ABA routing number tells a US payer which American bank should receive the money. Most Indian service exporters only meet it when a payment platform gives them a US account to collect from American clients.

What does an ABA routing number mean in simple words?

An ABA routing number is the address of a US bank inside the US payment system: a nine-digit number that identifies that bank.¹² The name comes from the American Bankers Association, which created the numbering system. In US regulation the same number is simply called the "routing number".¹

• Length: nine digits in the form used for electronic payments, with a fractional form also printed on checks.²
• Issued to: banks in the United States. Your Indian savings or current account has no routing number.
• Pairs with: an account number. Together they identify where a US payment should land.

A routing number is the first thing a US client asks for when it wants to pay you "domestically" rather than by an international wire.

Why does an ABA routing number matter for Indian exporters and freelancers?

An ABA routing number matters for Indian exporters and freelancers because many US clients prefer to pay through their normal payables run. Those clients ask for a routing number and account number, because those details let them pay through the US Automated Clearing House (ACH) network, which reaches all US bank and credit union accounts.³

• Bank compliance: the money that reaches India is still an export receipt, so the usual purpose code and documentation apply.
• Getting paid on time: if the routing details are wrong, the payment can be returned, which delays your realisation of export proceeds.
• Choice of route: without a US account, the client has to send an international wire instead.

The full walk through is in how to receive payment from a US client.

How does an ABA routing number work?

An ABA routing number works by encoding where the bank sits in the Federal Reserve system: the nine-digit number begins with the four-digit Federal Reserve routing symbol, according to Appendix A of Regulation CC.²

• Routing symbol: the first four digits.²
• Federal Reserve District: the first two digits of the routing symbol.²
• On a check: the nine-digit number is printed in magnetic ink along the bottom, and a fractional form usually appears at the top right.²
• Legal definition: Regulation CC defines a routing number as the number printed on the face of a check in fractional or nine-digit form, or the bank identification number in an electronic check.¹

The payer's bank reads the number and sends the payment to the matching US bank.

How do you get and use an ABA routing number as an Indian exporter?

An Indian exporter gets an ABA routing number by opening a US collection account, or avoids needing one by asking the client for an international wire.

1. Use a US collection account: a cross-border payment provider or bank gives you US account details, a routing number and an account number. The client pays domestically, and the provider later sends the money to India. See local collection accounts.
2. Ask for an international wire: the client sends a SWIFT transfer straight to your Indian bank using its BIC and your account number.

For example, a US company paying a designer in Pune or a marketing agency in Kochi through its payables run will often ask for a routing number and account number. Copy the exact routing number your provider or bank shows for the payment type the client will use, ACH or wire.

What is the difference between an ABA routing number and a SWIFT code (BIC)?

An ABA routing number identifies a bank inside the United States for domestic payments, while a SWIFT code (BIC) identifies a bank for international payment messages and is alphanumeric rather than a nine-digit number. Other bank codes cover other systems, as the table shows.²

Give each client only the code that matches the route it will use.

What do people get wrong about ABA routing numbers?

People most often assume an ABA routing number works for any bank account, when it only points to a US bank.

• Indian accounts: routing numbers are a US system, so an Indian bank has an IFSC and a BIC, and no routing number.
• Payment type: copy the exact routing number your provider or bank shows for the payment type the client will use, ACH or wire, because wrong details can lead to a returned payment.
• Export status: money collected through a US account and sent on to India is still an export receipt for your Indian business.
• Paper forms: the fractional form on a check and the nine-digit form are the same routing number written two ways.²

Check the details with your provider before you put them on an invoice.

Which terms are related to ABA routing number?

These terms come up alongside the ABA routing number when a US client pays an Indian exporter.

• ACH transfer: the US bank-to-bank payment that uses a routing number and account number.
• BIC: the code that identifies your Indian bank for international wires.
• SWIFT code: the everyday name for a BIC.
• IBAN: the account identifier used in Europe and many other countries.
• Local collection account: a foreign account, such as a US account, that a provider gives you to collect payments.
• Wire transfer: a payment sent one at a time, which can reach India directly.