PNB IFSC code

Use a source PNB itself prints, and treat a remembered code as unverified: more than 4,300 PUNB codes in circulation today were issued during the merger, replacing codes that no longer route anything.

1. 1

   Check the chequebook

   The RBI has advised banks to print the branch IFSC on cheques issued to their customers.

2. 2

   Search the branch table on this page

   Every PNB branch we index has a page with its IFSC and address, and its MICR code where the register has one.

3. 3

   Map an ORBC0 or UTBI0 code through PNB’s migration list

   PNB published both lists as old-code-to-new-code tables, so a retired code still traces to its replacement.

If you banked with either, yes. The scheme amalgamating Oriental Bank of Commerce and United Bank of India into Punjab National Bank took effect on 1 April 2020; every branch of both banks became a PNB branch that day. The codes were rewritten afterwards.

PNB told e-OBC customers their IFSC and MICR codes changed with effect from 30 November 2020, and its migration lists head the old column “Old IFSC Code (will be disabled from 01-04-2021)”. Codes beginning ORBC0 or UTBI0 no longer route anything.

The OBC list is unusually regular: in all 2,368 mappings ORBC010NNNN became PUNB0NNNN10 — the same four digits, with the “10” moved to the end. United Bank codes were alphanumeric, so its 1,994 mappings follow no such rule. Confirm with the account holder before you send.

The format is fixed by the Reserve Bank of India and identical across every Indian bank. PUNB0168510 breaks down like any other PNB branch code.

PUNB

Bank identifier — never changes

0

Reserved by the RBI, always zero

168510

Branch identifier — unique per branch

PNB adds a quirk. Almost every branch identifier ends in 00, 10, 20 or 30 (14 of the 13,033 do not), and two of those endings are documented: every e-OBC branch in PNB’s list ends 10, every erstwhile United Bank branch ends 20. The last two digits often reveal a branch’s origin.

NEFT and RTGS always need the beneficiary’s branch IFSC, and most IMPS transfers do. NEFT runs round the clock in half-hourly batches with no RBI-imposed limit; RTGS settles each payment individually, starts at ₹2,00,000 with no ceiling, and has run 24x7x365 since 14 December 2020.

A wrong IFSC is usually a delay, not a loss. If the destination bank cannot credit the account, the RBI requires an NEFT payment returned within two hours of that batch completing, and an RTGS payment within one hour.

An IFSC moves money between branches inside India; a SWIFT/BIC code moves it between banks across borders. They are not interchangeable, and a sender abroad usually needs both. PNB’s primary BIC is PUNBINBB; its routing sheet sends incoming MT-103 messages to the International Service Branch, New Delhi (PUNBINBBISB).

• From another Indian account: the branch IFSC only.
• By wire from abroad: the SWIFT code, then the beneficiary’s account number, name and branch — PNB’s own remittance form asks for all three.
• Into an NRE or NRO account: both codes plus the account type — NRE balances are repatriable and their income is tax-exempt in India, while NRO income is taxable and repatriation is capped.

India took in an estimated $129 billion in remittances in 2024, more than any other low- or middle-income country, and the World Bank put the cost of sending $200 there at 5.02% in Q2 2024 against a global average of 6.65%.