LISAZAJJ11-character variant (head office):
LISAZAJJXXX| Bank code | Country | Location |
|---|---|---|
| LISA | ZA | JJ |
| Mercantile Bank | ZA (South Africa) | Johannesburg |
An 11-character variant like LISAZAJJXXX also indicates the head office — the trailing 'XXX' is the default. Codes ending in different sequences (e.g. 'LISAZAJJ001') refer to specific branches.
Mercantile Bank was founded in 1965 and historically focused on serving the South African business community of Portuguese-speaking origin (the bank-code prefix LISA derives from "Lisbon"). Portugal's Caixa Geral de Depósitos owned the bank from 1989 to 2019, when South Africa's Capitec Bank acquired it as a strategic platform for entry into business banking. The correct SWIFT code is LISAZAJJ — some directories list LIBSZAJJ which is incorrect; the verified active form (June 2026) is LISAZAJJ per Wise, TheSwiftCodes, and bank.codes. Long form: LISAZAJJXXX. The bank operates around 12 branches in South Africa and serves SME and mid-corporate clients. Inbound wires route to the Mercantile Lisbon House head office.
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SWIFT and BIC are two names for the same identifier: an 8 or 11-character code standardised by ISO 9362 that identifies a bank in the SWIFT payment network. For a wire to Mercantile Bank, your sending bank needs this code (LISAZAJJ) to route the payment message through correspondent banks to Mercantile Bank in Johannesburg.
An IBAN, by contrast, identifies a specific bank account — not the institution. IBANs are mandatory in the European Economic Area, the UK, most of the Middle East, and several African countries (but South Africa does not use IBANs universally). For most wires to South Africa, you will supply SWIFT code LISAZAJJ + the recipient's account number, not an IBAN.
UK sort codes (6 digits) and US routing numbers (9 digits) are domestic-only equivalents — they do not work for international wires. If a US-based sender wants to wire to Mercantile Bank, they need the SWIFT code, not the US routing number of the correspondent bank (although their bank may use the routing number internally to route their side of the wire).
One final technical detail on the 11-character form: the last three characters identify a specific branch. When they read 'XXX' (as in LISAZAJJXXX), they conventionally designate the head office itself. Most international wires use either the 8-character form or the 11-character form with XXX; unless your recipient explicitly tells you otherwise, that is the right choice.
Mercantile Bank's SWIFT/BIC code is LISAZAJJ. This 8-character code identifies the bank's Johannesburg head office for international wire transfers.
Yes. SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and BIC (Business Identifier Code) are two names for the same 8 or 11-character identifier standardised by ISO 9362. You will see Mercantile Bank's code referenced under either name on different financial platforms.
Yes. For an international wire to reach your Mercantile Bank account, the sender needs SWIFT code LISAZAJJ AND your account number. Some sending banks also request the recipient bank's full address (142 West Street, Mercantile Lisbon House, Floor 4, Sandown, Johannesburg).
Typically 1 to 5 business days. The timing depends on the intermediary (correspondent) banks between the sending bank and Mercantile Bank. Wires from major global banks (HSBC, Barclays, JPMorgan, Citi) usually clear fastest.
For smaller amounts to South Africa, operators such as Wise, LemFi, Sendwave, and TapTap Send typically offer a rate closer to mid-market and lower fees than a classic SWIFT bank wire. See our South Africa inbound corridor comparison for side-by-side pricing.
Source: Mercantile Bank's official website + Wise SWIFT directory. Last verified: 2026-06-04. SWIFT codes change rarely but always confirm with your bank before initiating a transfer. Educational only — not financial advice.