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IBAN guide

​​IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It is a new format for an existing bank account number that will be recognised internationally.


It’s a way of identifying a bank account which cuts down errors and delays in international payments.
 
 
The IBAN is a tool designed to increase the speed and accuracy of International Payments by adding a standard prefix to existing domestic account numbers. However, this is not a replacement for existing account numbers; the IBAN merely compliments what is already there. Additional characters will appear in front of the account number, including a 2 letter country code.
 
 
The information your beneficiary provides may or may not state the word IBAN, but must contain a two-letter country code which appears in front of existing bank code/account numbers, for example:
 
Austria = AT, Germany = DE, France = FR
 
These two letters will always be followed by a two-digit (check number) which should be obtained by the beneficiary Bank. 
 
 
 

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IBANs include all the necessary details for a receiving bank to apply the payment directly to a beneficiary's bank account without any manual intervention. An IBAN contains information relating to the country, bank and branch of the beneficiary as well as the account number itself.
 
 
It is recommended that IBAN numbers must be accompanied by the SWIFT BIC code of the beneficiary bank, as opposed to the name and address of the beneficiary bank.  
 
IMPORTANT: Do not enter the Beneficiary’s bank name and address as well as the SWIFTBIC– this will delay payment as it will have to be manually checked that the SWIFTBIC is correct for the Bank Name and Bank Address quoted.
 
 
You may need to use an IBAN when you make or receive cross border payments for certain countries that mandate the use of IBAN for International payments.

IBANs are different in length (please see Country list below).
 
 
When an IBAN is processed electronically, it must not contain spaces and must not include the word 'IBAN'​.


 
 
Country
IBAN length IBAN prefix Mandatory
Albania
28 AL  
Andorra
24 AD  
Austria
20 AT  
Bahrain
22 BH YES
Belgium
16 BE  
Bosnia and Herzegovina
20 BA  
Bulgaria
22 BG  
Croatia
21 HR  
Cyprus
28 CY  
Czech Republic
24 CZ  
Denmark
18 DK  
Estonia
20 EE  
Faroe Islands
18 FO  
Finland
18 FI  
France
27 FR  
Germany
22 DE  
Gibraltar
23 GI  
Greece
27 GR  
Greenland
18 GL  
Hungary
28 HU  
Iceland
26 IS  
Ireland
22 IE  
Israel
23 IL  
Italy
27 IT  
Kuwait
30 KW YES
Latvia
21 LV  
Liechtenstein
21 LI  
Lithuania
20 LT  
Luxembourg
20 LU  
Lebanon
28 LB YES
Macedonia
19 MK  
Malta
31 MT  
Mauritius
30 MU  
Monaco
27 MC  
Montenegro
22 ME  
Netherlands
18 NL  
Norway
15 NO  
Poland
28 PL  
Portugal
25 PT  
Romania
24 RO  
San Marino
27 SM  
Saudi Arabia
24 SA YES
Serbia
22 RS  
Slovak Republic
24 SK  
Slovenia
19 SI  
Spain
24 ES  
Sweden
24 SE  
Switzerland
21 CH  
Tunisia
24 TN  
Turkey
26 TR YES
UK
22 GB  
UAE
23 AE YES
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