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Your bank routing number is useful for anything from signing up for direct deposit to receiving wire transfers. Even ordering new checks requires a routing number. Almost all financial institutions use routing numbers— even brokerages.
The routing number has a couple of names, including the ABA number or routing transit number. The American Bankers Association created the bank routing number in 1910 so financial institutions wouldn’t get confused as to where funds were supposed to go and where they were supposed to be withdrawn from.
What Is E-Trade’s Routing Number?
If you are an E-Trade customer and have a Morgan Stanley Private Bank account, knowing your routing number is easy, as the bank uses one number regardless of your location. The routing number for Morgan Stanley Private Bank — formerly known as E-Trade Bank — is 256072691. You can also find this routing number at the bottom of your checks in the first group of numbers.
What Is a Routing Number?
You’ll find your bank routing number on the lower left-hand corner of your checks, right next to your account number. Routing numbers contain nine digits and are comprised of three parts. The first four digits in a routing number are the Federal Reserve routing symbol, the next four digits are the ABA institution identifier, and the final digit is known as the “check digit.”
Some banks have multiple routing numbers to serve different needs. Smaller banks and online-only financial institutions typically use only one routing number nationwide. Larger banks might have routing numbers for each state in which they operate.
E-Trade’s SWIFT Code for International Wire Transfers
International wire transfers follow the same idea as domestic transfers in that they use identifiers in order to send and receive funds with the proper destinations. It’s common for intermediary banks to facilitate the transfer, which makes it a bit more expensive.
Wire transfers are faster than other bank transactions and can be completed in several minutes, depending on the transaction being processed, although international wire transfers might require more time and extra steps. One of those steps involves getting the proper SWIFT code, also known as a BIC.
Here are E-Trade’s wiring numbers:
| E-Trade’s Wiring Numbers | |
|---|---|
| Morgan Stanley Private Bank (formerly E-Trade Bank) routing number | 256072691 |
| E-Trade From Morgan Stanley routing number (brokerage accounts) | 056073573 |
| E-Trade SWIFT code | WFBIUS6S |
Note that E-Trade uses Wells Fargo as an intermediary for international wire transfers, so E-Trade’s SWIFT code is the same as Wells Fargo’s.
Know Your E-Trade Routing Number
Routing numbers have been around for over a century. Knowing your routing number is important for matters pertaining to money transfers. This can be especially crucial when navigating vast sums of money between parties, or when you need to wire money in a pinch.
You can find your routing number on your checks, on the chart above or by going to E-Trade’s website. You might want to check with your bank or brokerage before moving money — a single wrong digit means your money will go to someone else.
Julia Gordon contributed to the reporting for this article.
Editorial Note: This content is not provided by any entity covered in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, ratings or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author alone and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any entity named in this article.
This article has been updated since its original publication.
