The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is a series of alphanumeric characters used as a means of identifying a specific bank account.

IBANs were first adopted by the European Committee for Banking Standards.

The idea is essentially that each bank account has its own IBAN, which can be used to quickly pinpoint the account’s location anywhere in the world.

The IBAN consists of up to 34 alphanumeric characters.

Example of a British bank statement showing the location of the IBAN. 

The use of IBANs helps expedite automatic processing of cross-border payments and receipts and reduces the need for manual intervention – ensuring proper transmission of data.

In turn, this results in fewer costs and delays that can occur when bank information is missing or incorrect.

What do the numbers mean?

• The first two digits identify the country of the account.
• The next characters typically identify the National bank code or BIC bank code.
• The remaining characters usually identify the account’s branch code (sort code) and account number.

Countries that use the IBAN (in blue or orange):

European countries that use the IBAN:

• Albania – 28 characters long
• Andorra – 24 characters long
• Austria – 20 characters long
• Belgium – 16 characters long
• Bosnia and Herzegovina – 20 characters long
• Bulgaria – 22 characters long
• Croatia – 21 characters long
• Cyprus – 28 characters long
• Czech Republic – 24 characters long
• Denmark – 18 characters long
• Estonia – 20 characters long
• Faroe Islands – 18 characters long
• Finland – 18 characters long
• France – 27 characters long
• Georgia – 22 characters long
• Germany – 22 characters long
• Gibraltar – 23 characters long
• Greece – 27 characters long
• Greenland – 18 characters long
• Guernsey – 22 characters long
• Hungary – 28 characters long
• Iceland – 26 characters long
• Ireland – 22 characters long
• Isle of Man – 22 characters long
• Italy – 27 characters long
• Jersey – 22 characters long
• Latvia – 21 characters long
• Liechtenstein – 21 characters long
• Lithuania – 20 characters long
• Luxembourg – 20 characters long
• Macedonia – 19 characters long
• Malta – 31 characters long
• Moldova – 24 characters long
• Monaco – 27 characters long
• Montenegro – 22 characters long
• Netherlands – 18 characters long
• Norway – 15 characters long
• Poland – 28 characters long
• Portugal – 25 characters long
• Romania – 24 characters long
• San Marino – 27 characters long
• Serbia – 22 characters long
• Slovakia – 24 characters long
• Slovenia – 19 characters long
• Spain – 24 characters long
• Sweden – 24 characters long
• Switzerland – 21 characters long
• Ukraine – 29 characters long
• United Kingdom – 22 characters long

Non-European countries that use the IBAN:

• Algeria – 24 characters long
• Angola – 25 characters long
• Azerbaijan – 28 characters long
• Bahrain – 22 characters long
• Benin – 28 characters long
• Brazil – 29 characters long
• British Virgin Islands – 24 characters long
• Burkina Faso – 27 characters long
• Burundi – 16 characters long
• Cameroon – 27 characters long
• Cape Verde – 25 characters long
• Central African Republic – 27 characters long
• Congo – 27 characters long
• Costa Rica – 21 characters long
• Dominican Republic – 28 characters long
• Egypt – 27 characters long
• French Guiana – 27 characters long
• French Polynesia – 27 characters long
• Gabon – 27 characters long
• Guadeloupe – 27 characters long
• Guatemala – 28 characters long
• Iran – 26 characters long
• Israel – 23 characters long
• Ivory Coast – 28 characters long
• Kazakhstan – 20 characters long
• Kuwait – 30 characters long
• Lebanon – 28 characters long
• Madagascar – 27 characters long
• Mali – 28 characters long
• Martinique – 27 characters long
• Mauritania – 27 characters long
• Mauritius – 30 characters long
• Mozambique – 25 characters long
• New Caledonia – 27 characters long
• Pakistan – 24 characters long
• Palestine, State of – 29 characters long
• Réunion – 27 characters long
• Saint-Pierre and Miquelon – 27 characters long
• Sao Tome and Principe – 25 characters long
• Saudi Arabia – 24 characters long
• Senegal – 28 characters long
• Tunisia – 24 characters long
• Turkey – 26 characters long
• United Arab Emirates -23 characters long
• Wallis and Futuna – 27 characters long

Video – IBAN and BIC