The Bankgiro System is an open payment system for the Swedish market, accessible to both payers and payees.
The Bankgiro System (Bankgirosystemet) started in 1959. During the years, the system has grown and now offers a wide range of services for incoming and outgoing payments. The Bankgiro System is an open system, which means that if Bankgirots requirements for participation are met, an organization can get access to the system. The Bankgiro System is based on Bankgironumbers. A Bankgironumber allows you to choose account for your payments - even if you change banks.
At the end of 2012, Bankgirot launched the new system Real-time Payments (BiR), where settlement occurred directly around the clock, year-round. The payment system received significant attention both nationally and internationally when it was launched and enabled the popular payment service Swish. In the spring of 2024, BiR was shut down, and the Swedish national bank, Riksbanken, took over real-time payments in the new system RIX-INST. This is part of the transformation of the Swedish payment landscape that has been going on for several years.