Decoding the Mystery of IBAN: Understanding its Structure and Real-Life Examples
International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is an internationally recognized standard for identifying bank accounts. It is a unique identifier that is used to make sure that cross-border transactions are processed correctly and efficiently. In this article, we will take a closer look at the structure of IBAN and provide some examples to help you understand how it works.
IBAN Structure:
| Country | Code | SEPA | Length | Account Check | Branch | IBAN Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | AL | No | 28 |  | AL118818470068003887543745 | |
| Andorra | AD | Yes | 24 | | AD1400080987501234567890 | |
| Austria | AT | Yes | 20 | | | AT067558121820995864 |
| Azerbaijan | AZ | No | 28 | AZ6999CKG00098770001234567890 | ||
| Bahrain | BH | No | 22 | BH09KWJE000194860101611 | ||
| Belarus | BY | No | 28 | BY78QQQQ10109762003884000000 | ||
| Belgium | BE | Yes | 16 | | | BE76400773456769 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BA | No | 20 | | | BA512638515252111234 |
| Brazil | BR | No | 29 | | BR6100330059500010930449914P2 | |
| Bulgaria | BG | Yes | 22 | | BG35HMZR91550123456789 | |
| Costa Rica | CR | No | 22 | | CR093154184100358012345 | |
| Croatia | HR | Yes | 21 | | HR45996300001101234565 | |
| Cyprus | CY | Yes | 28 | | CY8200751950004775001234567 | |
| Czech Republic | CZ | Yes | 24 | | CZ8008000000001234567899 | |
| Denmark | DK | Yes | 18 | | | DK4170000123456789 |
| Dominican Republic | DO | No | 28 | DO8999JVU00000000000123456789 | ||
| Egypt | EG | No | 29 | EG280000400156789012345180002 | ||
| El Salvador | SV | No | 28 | SV43ACAT00000000000000123123 | ||
| Estonia | EE | Yes | 20 | | | EE471000001020145685 |
| Faroe Islands | FO | No | 18 | | | FO9264600123456789 |
| Finland | FI | Yes | 18 | | | FI1410093000123458 |
| France | FR | Yes | 27 | | | FR7630006000011234567890189 |
| Georgia | GE | No | 22 | GE60NB0000000123456789 | ||
| Germany | DE | Yes | 22 | | | DE75512108001245126199 |
| Gibraltar | GI | Yes | 23 | | GI04BARC000001234567890 | |
| Greece | GR | Yes | 27 | | GR9608100010000001234567890 | |
| Greenland | GL | No | 18 | | | GL8964710123456789 |
| Guatemala | GT | No | 28 | GT20AGRO00000000001234567890 | ||
| Holy See (the) | VA | Yes | 22 | VA59001123000012345678 | ||
| Hungary | HU | Yes | 28 | | | HU93116000060000000012345676 |
| Iceland | IS | Yes | 26 | | | IS750001121234563108962099 |
| Iraq | IQ | No | 23 | IQ20CBIQ861800101010500 | ||
| Ireland | IE | Yes | 22 | | | IE64IRCE92050112345678 |
| Israel | IL | No | 23 | | | IL170108000000012612345 |
| Italy | IT | Yes | 27 | | | IT60X0542811101000000123456 |
| Jordan | JO | No | 30 | | JO71CBJO0000000000001234567890 | |
| Kazakhstan | KZ | No | 20 | KZ563190000012344567 | ||
| Kosovo | XK | No | 20 | | | XK051212012345678906 |
| Kuwait | KW | No | 30 | KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101 | ||
| Latvia | LV | Yes | 21 | LV97HABA0012345678910 | ||
| Lebanon | LB | No | 28 | LB92000700000000123123456123 | ||
| Libya | LY | No | 25 | LY38021001000000123456789 | ||
| Liechtenstein | LI | Yes | 21 | | | LI7408806123456789012 |
| Lithuania | LT | Yes | 20 | | LT601010012345678901 | |
| Luxembourg | LU | Yes | 20 | LU120010001234567891 | ||
| Malta | MT | Yes | 31 | | MT31MALT01100000000000000000123 | |
| Mauritania | MR | No | 27 | | | MR1300020001010000123456753 |
| Mauritius | MU | No | 30 | | MU43BOMM0101123456789101000MUR | |
| Moldova | MD | No | 24 | MD21EX000000000001234567 | ||
| Monaco | MC | Yes | 27 | | | MC5810096180790123456789085 |
| Montenegro | ME | No | 22 | | ME25505000012345678951 | |
| Netherlands | NL | Yes | 18 | | | NL02ABNA0123456789 |
| North Macedonia | MK | No | 19 | | MK07200002785123453 | |
| Norway | NO | Yes | 15 | | | NO8330001234567 |
| Pakistan | PK | No | 24 | PK36SCBL0000001123456702 | ||
| Palestine | PS | No | 29 | PS92PALS000000000400123456702 | ||
| Poland | PL | Yes | 28 | | | PL10105000997603123456789123 |
| Portugal | PT | Yes | 25 | | | PT50002700000001234567833 |
| Qatar | QA | No | 29 | QA54QNBA000000000000693123456 | ||
| Romania | RO | Yes | 24 | RO09BCYP0000001234567890 | ||
| Saint Lucia | LC | No | 32 | LC14BOSL123456789012345678901234 | ||
| San Marino | SM | Yes | 27 | | | SM76P0854009812123456789123 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | ST | No | 25 | ST23000200000289355710148 | ||
| Saudi Arabia | SA | No | 24 | SA4420000001234567891234 | ||
| Serbia | RS | No | 22 | | RS35105008123123123173 | |
| Seychelles | SC | No | 31 | SC52BAHL01031234567890123456USD | ||
| Slovak Republic | SK | Yes | 24 | | SK8975000000000012345671 | |
| Slovenia | SI | Yes | 19 | | | SI56192001234567892 |
| Spain | ES | Yes | 24 | | | ES7921000813610123456789 |
| Sudan | SD | No | 18 | SD8811123456789012 | ||
| Sweden | SE | Yes | 24 | | | SE7280000810340009783242 |
| Switzerland | CH | Yes | 21 | | | CH5604835012345678009 |
| Timor-Leste | TL | No | 23 | | TL380010012345678910106 | |
| Tunisia | TN | No | 24 | | | TN5904018104004942712345 |
| Turkey | TR | No | 26 | | TR320010009999901234567890 | |
| Ukraine | UA | No | 29 | | UA903052992990004149123456789 | |
| United Arab Emirates | AE | No | 23 | AE460090000000123456789 | ||
| United Kingdom | GB | Yes | 22 | | | GB33BUKB20201555555555 |
| Virgin Islands, British | VG | No | 24 | VG21PACG0000000123456789 |
An IBAN is made up of up to 34 alphanumeric characters, which can be divided into four parts:
- Country Code: The first two characters of an IBAN identify the country in which the account is held. For example, the country code for accounts in the United Kingdom is “GB”.
- Check Digits: The next two characters of an IBAN are check digits, which are used to validate the accuracy of the IBAN. These check digits are calculated using a specific algorithm and can be used to quickly verify that an IBAN is correct.
- Bank Identifier: The next characters of an IBAN are the bank identifier, which is used to identify the bank where the account is held. This is usually a combination of letters and numbers that is unique to each bank.
- Account Number: The final part of an IBAN is the account number, which is used to identify the account holder. This can be either a series of numbers or a combination of numbers and letters.
Examples of IBAN
Here are some examples of IBAN to help illustrate how they are structured:
- GB29 NWBK 601613 319268 19
- Country code: GB
- Check digits: 29
- Bank identifier: NWBK 601613
- Account number: 31926819
- DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00
- Country code: DE
- Check digits: 89
- Bank identifier: 3704004405
- Account number: 5232013000
- NL91 ABNA 0417 1643 00
- Country code: NL
- Check digits: 91
- Bank identifier: ABNA 0417 1643 00
- Account number: N/A
It is important to note that the structure and format of IBAN may vary between countries. However, the overall purpose and functionality of IBAN remains the same across all countries that use it.
In conclusion, IBAN is a critical tool for identifying bank accounts and facilitating cross-border transactions. By understanding the structure and format of IBAN, as well as some examples, you can ensure that your transactions are processed correctly and efficiently. Whether you are a business owner or an individual, it is important to be familiar with IBAN and how it can be used to make your financial transactions more secure and streamlined.