Bank of Palestine SWIFT Code: PALSPS22

Bank of Palestine SWIFT Code: PALSPS22

Bank of Palestine's SWIFT code is PALSPS22 — the identifier used by international banks to route wire transfers to Bank of Palestine P.L.C.

What Is the Bank of Palestine SWIFT Code?

The Bank of Palestine SWIFT code is PALSPS22. It is the primary SWIFT/BIC code for Bank of Palestine P.L.C., the largest Palestinian bank by assets, and applies to international wire transfers sent to Bank of Palestine accounts. You may also see it written as PALSPS22XXX — the XXX suffix indicates no specific branch, and both formats are accepted by international sending banks.

How to Wire Money to Bank of Palestine from the US

To send an international wire from the U.S. to a Bank of Palestine account, you'll need the following from the recipient:

• Recipient name: Full legal name, exactly as it appears on the Bank of Palestine account
• IBAN: Palestinian IBAN (see format below)
• SWIFT/BIC code: PALSPS22
• Bank name: Bank of Palestine P.L.C.
• Bank address: Al-Wehda Street, Gaza City, Palestine (or the relevant branch address for West Bank accounts)
• Purpose of transfer: A specific, documented description of why funds are being sent
• Recipient address: Full physical address of the account holder

Palestinian IBAN format. Palestine uses IBANs for international wire transfers. Palestinian IBANs follow this structure: PS + 2 check digits + 4-character bank code + 21-digit account number, for a total of 29 characters. A Bank of Palestine IBAN looks like: PS92PALS000000000400123456702. The recipient should provide the full IBAN directly from their Bank of Palestine account documentation — do not attempt to construct it manually.

OFAC and US Compliance for Transfers to Palestine

Wiring money to Palestinian banks from the U.S. requires careful attention to compliance in a way that most international wire transfers do not. U.S. businesses and individuals sending funds to Palestine are subject to OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) regulations, and U.S. banks are required to screen all international transfers against OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list before processing.

What this means in practice. Your U.S. bank will run the recipient's name, the bank name, and the stated purpose of the transfer against OFAC's database before releasing the wire. If any element of the transfer matches or closely resembles a sanctioned entity, the bank will place a hold pending further review — or decline the transfer entirely. This is not specific to Bank of Palestine; it applies to all transfers to the Palestinian territories.

What U.S. banks require from senders. For transfers to Palestinian banks, most U.S. banks will ask for documentation beyond what a standard international wire requires. Be prepared to provide:

• A signed contract, service agreement, or invoice documenting the commercial basis of the transfer
• A description of the business relationship with the recipient
• The purpose of the specific transfer, in detail
• Confirmation that the recipient is not on the SDN list

How to check before sending. The OFAC SDN list is publicly searchable at sanctions.ofac.treas.gov. Before initiating a wire, verify that neither the recipient's name nor any intermediary in the payment chain appears on the list. This is a basic due diligence step your U.S. bank will also take — doing it yourself before initiating reduces the likelihood of a hold.

Ongoing compliance for recurring payments. If your business makes regular payments to contractors or vendors in Palestine, establish a documentation file for each recipient: identity documentation, signed contracts, and a record of each payment and its purpose. U.S. banks may ask for this documentation on any individual wire, and having it organized shortens resolution time significantly.

Correspondent Banks for Palestine Transfers

Bank of Palestine does not have direct access to the U.S. dollar clearing system through the Federal Reserve. USD wires from the U.S. to Bank of Palestine must route through one or more correspondent banks that have U.S. dollar clearing capabilities.

The correspondent bank acts as an intermediary: your U.S. bank wires USD to the correspondent, and the correspondent forwards the funds to Bank of Palestine. The full correspondent chain must be included in your wire instructions for the transfer to reach its destination.

Bank of Palestine's USD correspondent banking relationships have been affected by de-risking decisions at several major international banks over the past decade. Some U.S. and European banks have reduced or eliminated correspondent relationships with Palestinian banks as part of broader risk reduction strategies. This means:

• Not all U.S. banks will be able to process a wire to Bank of Palestine. If your bank declines, it may be due to their own correspondent banking policies, not an OFAC issue.
• The correspondent chain for a given transfer may vary. Confirm with Bank of Palestine's international wire desk which correspondent bank is currently active for USD transfers before initiating.
• Correspondent bank fees will be deducted in transit. The recipient may receive less than the amount sent.

For current correspondent bank details, contact Bank of Palestine directly at their international wire department — correspondent relationships can change and published information may be outdated.

Palestinian Pound vs USD Accounts at Bank of Palestine

There is no Palestinian pound. The Palestinian territories use multiple currencies in parallel, and Bank of Palestine holds accounts in several of them:

USD (U.S. Dollar) — The most commonly used currency for business transactions in Palestine, particularly in the West Bank. Most business accounts and many contractor accounts are USD-denominated. Wiring USD to a USD-denominated Bank of Palestine account avoids currency conversion entirely.

ILS (Israeli New Shekel) — Widely used in daily commerce, particularly for domestic transactions within the territories. Wiring ILS from the U.S. is uncommon and most U.S. banks do not support direct ILS wire transfers.

JOD (Jordanian Dinar) — Used in some commercial contexts, particularly in the West Bank given historical ties to Jordan. JOD wire transfers from the U.S. are possible but uncommon.

EUR (Euro) — Available for business accounts with European commercial relationships.

For U.S. businesses paying Palestinian contractors or vendors, wiring USD to a USD-denominated Bank of Palestine account is the most straightforward approach — it avoids forced conversion at an unfavorable rate and gives the recipient maximum flexibility in how they hold and use the funds. Confirm the recipient's account currency before initiating.

Common Issues Wiring to Bank of Palestine

Compliance holds at the U.S. sending bank. This is the most common obstacle for U.S.-to-Palestine wires and the one most worth preparing for. Your U.S. bank may place a hold on the wire pending compliance review, even for legitimate business payments. Having documentation ready — contract, invoice, description of the business relationship — shortens the review window. Some U.S. banks will decline the transfer entirely based on internal policy; if this happens, contact the bank's compliance team directly with documentation before concluding the transfer is impossible.

Correspondent bank rejection. Even if your U.S. bank processes the wire, the correspondent bank in the chain may apply additional scrutiny or decline to forward the funds. This is a function of the correspondent bank's own risk policies, not necessarily an OFAC issue. If a wire is rejected at the correspondent level, Bank of Palestine's international wire team can advise on alternative routing.

Missing or incorrectly formatted IBAN. Palestinian IBANs are 29 characters. A missing, truncated, or incorrectly formatted IBAN causes the wire to be rejected at the receiving bank. Always use the IBAN provided directly by the recipient from their account documentation.

Vague transfer purpose. A vague purpose field — "payment," "services," or similar — will almost certainly trigger a hold. Use specific, documentable language tied to an actual invoice or contract. This is particularly important for Palestine transfers given the heightened compliance scrutiny applied by U.S. banks.

Outdated correspondent bank details. As noted above, Bank of Palestine's correspondent banking relationships have shifted over the years. Using correspondent bank details that were accurate a year ago may not work today. Confirm current correspondent details with Bank of Palestine before initiating any wire.

How Slash Helps

U.S. companies with operations, contractors, or vendor relationships in Palestine face compliance and documentation requirements that go beyond what a standard international wire involves. The operational burden — preparing documentation for each transfer, managing correspondent bank variability, tracking which payments have cleared — is significant when payments are recurring.

Slash supports U.S. businesses managing international operations in complex markets. For Palestinian contractors or vendors who can accept card payments, Slash virtual cards eliminate the wire process entirely for eligible transactions — no OFAC screening delay, no correspondent chain, no documentation hold per payment. For payments that require a wire, Slash's real-time spend tracking gives your finance team a clean, timestamped record of every payment initiated, approved, and completed, with vendor-level categorization that makes compliance documentation easier to maintain and produce on request. When a U.S. bank or auditor asks for a record of payments to a specific vendor, Slash gives you that record without manual reconstruction from bank statements.