Identifying An International Bank Account

Today every bank that provides international banking services to its customers is required to hold an International Bank Account Number or IBAN. This numbering system was developed in order that various bank accounts around the globe could be easily identified. The system was first developed in Europe in order that they could be able to simplify the transactions that took place between various banks in the different countries that make up Europe.

Today the IBAN is now used around the world by all major banks and their subsidiaries and consists of a 2 letter country code which is then followed by a 2 check digit and then up to but no more than 30 alpha-numeric characters. These characters are often known as the BBAN (basic bank account number) and it is up to each banking association in the various countries to decide what this will be and which will then make it unique to other countries’ accounts.

The main idea of the IBAN is that it makes the processing of any kind of international transactions much easier and so funds can then be transferred between various countries much more quickly and efficiently. Also for those in European countries what it means is that you are actually able to eliminate all bank costs as you are able to designate your own account in an IBAN format and that all currency payments will be made in the Euro. Unfortunately this concession is not possible if the transaction payments are made using any other currency.

Since December 2001, an EU Regulation has made it a requirement that all banks now need to provide their account holders even if they are based in another European country with their IBAN and also the Bank Identifier Code (BIC or SWIFT). In fact today most transaction payments made between various European banks are now processed as well as validated through the use of IBAN account numbers. Because these payments are considered to be domestic rather than international this means that the cost you are charged for carrying out such transactions is much less. However in order to ensure that you make such savings all payments need to be made in Euros, the amount being paid is not less than 12,500 Euros and that both the International Bank Account Number along with the Bank Identifier Code have been provided by the bank in question that is making the transaction for their client.

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