Bank Lookup

Overview

A bank lookup API for KYB, payments and vendor onboarding. One registry joins the FDIC BankFind data (all ~28,000 bank charters, active, merged, failed and closed) with NCUA credit union filings, then attaches the routing numbers and SWIFT codes we hold for each active institution. Every match carries its status and status date, the establishment date, headquarters address and coordinates, website, regulator, FDIC certificate or NCUA charter and RSSD id. Look up a routing number and routingCheck tells you whether it still belongs to an active institution. Look up an IBAN or a SWIFT code outside the US and you get the bank from our SWIFT directory. Paid plans add the successor for merged charters, failure details for failed banks, the LEI, quarterly total assets, deposits, net income and credit union membership, plus branches=true for the branch list.

Live Test Bank Lookup API →

Endpoint

One host, one path per API. The block below shows this call in four languages; every one of them is the same HTTP request. Making requests covers the timeouts, retries and parameter rules that apply to all of them. The SDKs wrap the same call in a typed client.

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curl "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/banklookup?name=Wells%20Fargo&id=fdic-3511&fdicCert=3511&ncuaCharter=5536&routing=256074974&swift=WFBIUS6S&lei=KB1H1DSPRFMYMCUFXT09&domain=wellsfargo.com&iban=GB29NWBK60161331926819&state=CA&type=credit_union&status=any&country=GB&branches=true&limit=10" \
  -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here"

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const res = await fetch('https://api.apiverve.com/v1/banklookup?name=Wells%20Fargo&id=fdic-3511&fdicCert=3511&ncuaCharter=5536&routing=256074974&swift=WFBIUS6S&lei=KB1H1DSPRFMYMCUFXT09&domain=wellsfargo.com&iban=GB29NWBK60161331926819&state=CA&type=credit_union&status=any&country=GB&branches=true&limit=10', {
  headers: { 'x-api-key': 'your_api_key_here' },
});

if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`${res.status} ${await res.text()}`);

const { data } = await res.json();
console.log(data);

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import requests

res = requests.get(
    "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/banklookup?name=Wells%20Fargo&id=fdic-3511&fdicCert=3511&ncuaCharter=5536&routing=256074974&swift=WFBIUS6S&lei=KB1H1DSPRFMYMCUFXT09&domain=wellsfargo.com&iban=GB29NWBK60161331926819&state=CA&type=credit_union&status=any&country=GB&branches=true&limit=10",
    headers={"x-api-key": "your_api_key_here"},
    timeout=15,
)
res.raise_for_status()

print(res.json()["data"])

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package main

import (
	"fmt"
	"io"
	"net/http"
)

func main() {
	req, _ := http.NewRequest("GET", "https://api.apiverve.com/v1/banklookup?name=Wells%20Fargo&id=fdic-3511&fdicCert=3511&ncuaCharter=5536&routing=256074974&swift=WFBIUS6S&lei=KB1H1DSPRFMYMCUFXT09&domain=wellsfargo.com&iban=GB29NWBK60161331926819&state=CA&type=credit_union&status=any&country=GB&branches=true&limit=10", nil)
	req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "your_api_key_here")

	res, err := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
	if err != nil {
		panic(err)
	}
	defer res.Body.Close()

	out, _ := io.ReadAll(res.Body)
	fmt.Println(string(out))
}

Replace your_api_key_here with the key from your dashboard. When the inputs arrive as a list rather than one at a time, batch requests run up to 200 of them through this same API in a single call.

Authentication

Send your key in the x-api-key header. That is the only auth step — there is no token exchange and no per-endpoint scope to configure. Authentication covers creating, rotating and revoking keys.

Parameters

Sent in the query string. Premium parameters are accepted on every plan but only take effect on plans that include them.

Response

Every API returns the same three top-level keys, so one response handler covers your whole integration: status, error and data. Only data changes shape. Response format covers the envelope, the other output formats and how premium fields are withheld.

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{
  "status": "ok",
  "error": null,
  "data": {
    "count": 1,
    "totalMatches": 3,
    "banks": [
      {
        "id": "fdic-3511",
        "name": "Wells Fargo Bank, National Association",
        "aliases": [
          "Crocker National Bank",
          "Crocker-Citizens National Bank",
          "Crocker-Anglo National Bank",
          "Crocker First National Bank of San Francisco"
        ],
        "type": "bank",
        "charterClass": "National bank (OCC)",
        "status": "active",
        "statusDate": null,
        "successor": null,
        "establishedDate": "1870-01-01",
        "foundedYear": 1870,
        "address": "3201 N 4th Ave",
        "city": "Sioux Falls",
        "state": "SD",
        "zip": "57104",
        "county": "Minnehaha",
        "country": "US",
        "latitude": 43.580844403981,
        "longitude": -96.722917126828,
        "coordinatesSource": "fdic",
        "website": "https://www.wellsfargo.com",
        "domain": "wellsfargo.com",
        "phone": null,
        "regulator": "OCC",
        "insurer": "FDIC",
        "fdicCert": 3511,
        "ncuaCharter": null,
        "rssdId": 451965,
        "lei": "KB1H1DSPRFMYMCUFXT09",
        "holdingCompany": "WELLS FARGO&COMPANY",
        "routingNumbers": [
          "121000248"
        ],
        "swiftCodes": [
          "WFBIUS6S"
        ],
        "branchCount": 4161,
        "totalAssets": 1907928000000,
        "totalDeposits": 1563534000000,
        "netIncomeYtd": 12808000000,
        "members": null,
        "financialsAsOf": "2026-06-30",
        "failure": null
      }
    ],
    "routingCheck": null,
    "ibanCheck": null
  }
}

Response fields

Paths are relative to data. Premium fields are absent rather than zeroed on plans that do not include them, so check for presence instead of comparing to 0.

Errors

Read the HTTP status first, then error for the specific reason. The body names the parameter that has to change. Error handling covers the full status list and which of them are worth retrying.

Use cases

KYB and Vendor Onboarding

Confirm that the bank a business names is a real, insured institution that is still operating, and record its FDIC certificate or NCUA charter with the file.

Payment Instruction Checks

Before paying a new routing number, check that it belongs to an active institution and that its owner matches the bank named on the invoice.

Bank Merger Tracking

Map an old bank name on a cheque or statement to the institution that absorbed it, with the date of the merger.

Market Research

Rank banks and credit unions in a state by assets and branch count from quarterly regulatory filings.

Other ways to use Bank Lookup

Set up Bank Lookup on APIVerve, or reach the same source a different way. Your APIVerve account and credits work on all of them — one key, one balance.

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