International Bank Account Number (IBAN)

What an IBAN is

An International Bank Account Number is a standardized identifier for a bank account used in countries that have adopted the IBAN system. It helps banks identify the country, bank and account involved in an international transfer. More than 70 countries use IBANs, with the system most familiar in Europe.

An IBAN starts with a two-letter country code and two check digits, followed by a country-specific Basic Bank Account Number (BBAN). The length depends on the country and reaches up to 34 characters. The check digits help catch formatting errors, but they do not prove that an account belongs to the person or business named as the recipient.

An IBAN helps route an international bank transfer, but its check digits do not verify who owns the account.

How an IBAN works

When you send an international bank transfer, the IBAN gives the banks a structured account identifier to use in routing and processing the payment. The bank checks whether the number follows the required format. For example, a German IBAN starts with “DE,” followed by two check digits and the German account details.

The United States does not use IBANs for its domestic bank accounts. For a transfer between US accounts, you use domestic account information such as a routing number and account number. A US business dealing with an overseas customer, supplier or bank is where an IBAN enters the picture.

What it means for your business

An IBAN is for bank transfers, not card acceptance. It does not change your card interchange, network assessments or processor markup, and it is not a card-processing fee on your merchant statement. There is no universal IBAN charge; costs relate to the bank transfer and the services handling it, rather than to the identifier itself.

The practical risk is sending funds to the wrong account. A mistyped IBAN that fails the format check should be caught, but a valid IBAN belonging to someone else can route money to that account. The recipient is not automatically required to return a mistaken payment, so contact your bank promptly if you discover an error.

Where you use it

You might provide your business’s IBAN to an overseas customer paying you, or enter a supplier’s IBAN when sending an international payment. Find your own IBAN through your bank’s account information or statement. Do not substitute a US routing number, account number or a made-up IBAN: those are different account-identification systems.

For international payment instructions, use the recipient’s exact IBAN and any separate bank identifier the receiving bank requires. Compare the country code and account details with the recipient’s verified instructions before sending. The IBAN’s check digits catch some entry mistakes, but they cannot confirm that the recipient’s payment request is genuine.

What you can actually change

1. 01
   Use the exact IBAN. Copy the number from the recipient’s verified payment instructions or your bank’s account details. Keep the country code and check digits intact.
2. 02
   Verify the recipient. Confirm account instructions through a trusted channel before sending money. A correctly formatted IBAN does not establish who owns the account.
3. 03
   Keep it separate from card costs. Review international bank-transfer charges with those bank transactions. An IBAN is not a card fee or a merchant-processing statement line.

Frequently asked questions