How to Quickly Find Your Capital One Routing Number

I was 28 when I decided to switch bank accounts…

This, of course, meant I had to fix all of my automatic bill pay accounts. With no new physical checks in hand, I started the process.

However, there was a point when I was asked what my routing number was for my new bank account. And hit me:

I had no clue what my new Capital One routing number was.

Clueless and semi-frantic, I asked a co-worker if they used Capital One and if so could tell me how to find my ABA number…

One looked at me and calmly said – just Google it.

I will be very honest… I had no clue my Capital One routing number was universal to a financial institution  (A bank) not a specific individual (Me).

So if you’re like me and had no clue what a routing number was or if you’re just looking to find your Capital One routing number really fast, I got you covered.

Quickest way to find a routing number = Personal Check

The quickest way to find your Capital One routing number, or any routing number for that matter, is to pull out your checkbook and look at the bottom left corner.

You see that first 9 digit number sequence?

That is your routing number, which is sometimes referred to as your ABA number (After the routing number, the 9 digit number to the right is your personal account number, followed by the 4 digit check number).

Easy, whip out the checkbook and look at the bottom – now you have your routing number. Now, chances are you're like me and you don’t carry a checkbook around, especially considering it isn’t 1995.  So if you ever find that you don’t have any physical checks handy, luckily for you there is a thing called the internet.

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Find routing numbers online

A simple way to find your Capital One routing number if you find yourself checkless (Like most people in 2019) is to simply login to your online account:

Once you are logged into your Capital One account you can check your account number and the routing number should be under it.

Depending on the bank, they will also post the routing number in the footer… just scan your eyes to the bottom right and look for “ABA Routing Number” followed by a number that looks like this: #4545-6767-8

However, because some banks have different routing numbers for different geographic regions, some will have different ABA numbers per state. Capital One doesn’t which makes it easy.

Capital One Doesn’t Have State Routing Numbers

In case you were wondering, some routing numbers can vary between states and the different types of wire transfers.

Capital one is pretty simple, their routing numbers are below:

Capital One Routing Numbers
Capital One Bank	051405515
Capital One 360 (Online Banking)	031176110
Capital One, N.A	056073502
SWIFT Code	NFBKUS33

Ok, now you are confused – which one is which and which routing number do you use?

(This is how you feel right now because you can move forward with your ACH transactions)

The key difference between 360 and Capital One bank is the online vs physical branch (Semi-related news, because of online banking consumers get better rates, however, Capital One has recently begun another series of layoffs).

So what the heck is the “SWIFT” code??

There are lots of routing numbers out there, however, it is important to note that international transfers use the SWIFT system, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It’s a mouthful, so I will stick with SWIFT.

If you ever find yourself looking to move money internationally, like wiring money to your buddy who lost his in Amsterdam, then you will need the SWIFT code.

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Worst comes to worst, contact Capital One.

Worst comes to worst, let’s say for some reason you have to reach out to Capital One, use this link to directly contact them. If there is an error locating your Capital One routing number, or if you have any other questions reach out.

Or you can use the information provided below:

Why do banks have routing numbers?

Now maybe you are curious and you find yourself wondering, “Why do banks have routing numbers anyways?”

Bank routing numbers or RTN’s (Routing Transit Numbers) are used to identify financial institutions.

Think of them sort of like email providers. You can use @gmail, @yahoo, @hotmail and so on as your email provider, but what you put in front of them (Just like your bank account number) makes your email specific to you. The @gmail refers to the financial institution.

Maybe my analogies don’t work, but either way, transferring money from financial institution to financial institution requires banks to identify one another, hence why they use routing numbers specific to them.

Want to know something interesting about routing numbers?

The first four digits of a routing number are the Federal Reserves Routing symbol (One of 12 banks), followed by a 4 digit number to identify Capital One (Or any bank), and the last digit is a check digit – which validates the first 8.

At this point if you’re still reading this article I commend you… you really must like reading about routing numbers. Most people got the routing number and bounced, but for you, here are a few takeaways followed by some related articles to help with personal finance.

Take away when it comes to finding your Capital One Bank’s routing number:

You most likely won’t have to look up your routing number for your Capital One account again unless you are either:

1. Creating a new checking account
2. Enrolling in automatic bill pay
3. Have an error with your automatic bill pay

So don’t worry about writing it down on a sticky note somewhere because you probably won’t need it. Luckily, routing numbers are very purposeful – but they're super easy to find!

And if a coworker asks you one day, as I did two years ago, where to find a routing number…. Boom, share this link with them!

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