A routing number is the term for bank codes in Canada, which is a eight-digit codewith a dash between the fifth and sixth digit for paper financial documents encoded with magnetic ink character recognition and nine numerical digits without dashes for electronic funds transfers.
A routing number consists of a five digit branch number (also called transit number) identifying the branch where an account is held and a three digit financial institution number corresponding to the financial institution. Routing numbers are regulated by Payments Canada to allow easy identification of the branch location and financial institution associated with an account.