How to format a UK bank sort code?

Question

As part of a form I collect a users bank details which includes their sort code. The sort code is stored in the database as six numbers, for example 771731.

I'd prefer to store the sort code in this format (without the hyphens) as it makes it easier for me to work with in other areas of the site. I want to output the sort code in one area of the site but in the format 77-17-31 using PHP.

I have searched Google for a solution but surprisingly found very little.

score 8 · Accepted Answer · answered May 10 '15 at 10:37

8

This is the prefect use-case for wordwrap(), just use it like this:

$code = "771731";
echo wordwrap($code, 2, "-", TRUE);

output:

77-17-31

answered May 10 '15 at 10:37

Rizier123

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Very elegant solution! – Andy Davies Jan 25 '16 at 17:00

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered May 10 '15 at 10:38

1

Just figured this out using PHP functions, thought I'd post the answer in case it helped anyone else doing a Google search...

function formatSortCode($str) {
    return implode("-", str_split($str, 2));
}

echo formatSortCode('771731'); // outputs 77-17-31

answered May 10 '15 at 10:38

Michael LB

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You don't need to write your own function, PHP already has one – Rizier123 May 10 '15 at 11:22

Luke Madhanga · Answer 3 · 2018-04-17T11:52:24.493

1

I arrived here looking for a JavaScript answer not realising it was a PHP question. Tweaking @MichaelLB's answer, the JavaScript translation is

function formatSortCode(str) {
    return (String(str).match(/.{1,2}/g) || []).join('-');
}

formatSortCode(123456789);

>>> "12-34-56-78-9"

edited Apr 17 '18 at 11:52

answered Apr 17 '18 at 11:38

Luke Madhanga

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I arrived here too and decided to create a post with the Javascript question on. https://stackoverflow.com/questions/75447296/how-do-i-format-an-account-name-and-or-sort-code-using-javascript – Watts Epherson Feb 14 '23 at 11:52

How to format a UK bank sort code?

3 Answers3