International Bank Account Number (IBAN) Security

In order to ensure that international wires reach the beneficiary as quickly as possible, it is essential to include certain pieces of required information. For Euro payments to or from Euroland and Swedish Krona payments to or from Sweden, the International Bank Account Number, or IBAN, must be included. Created to facilitate straight-through processing of cross-border payments, the IBAN contains all the details required by the receiving bank to apply payment directly to a beneficiary bank account.

Q. What is an IBAN?

A. The IBAN, or International Bank Account Number, was created to facilitate the straight through processing of cross border payments. The use of IBANs minimizes manual intervention and data errors avoiding inefficiencies in processing. IBANs allow for the automatic capture and validation of account numbers by ensuring a level of standardization.

On January 1, 2007, IBANs become mandatory for euro payments to or from the Eurozone and Swedish Krona payments to or from Sweden. Payments sent without an IBAN will be rejected and bank fees applied.

In addition, payments in currencies other than Euros may be refused or assessed “repair” fees if the payment is forwarded without an IBAN.

IBANs are already mandatory for all euro payments to beneficiaries in Luxembourg and Romania. In addition, certain banks in Spain, Portugal and Hungary have begun mandating IBANs independently.

An IBAN is composed of the domestic account number, prefixed by the ISO country code and two check digits, with a maximum of 34 alphanumeric characters. While IBANs differ from country to country, they do have a fixed length per country - for instance, 27 characters in France and 16 characters in Belgium.

Q. Where do I get an IBAN?

A. Only the beneficiary’s bank can provide the correct IBAN for their account. One should never try to guess at an IBAN. The beneficiary should always be contacted for their information. You can check the validity of an IBAN at the www.apacs.org.uk.

Q. Where do I enter an IBAN when ordering online?

A. When placing an order online, please enter the IBAN in the “Account Number” field. Enter the number without any dashes or spaces and do not include the word “IBAN” in the field itself.

In addition to an IBAN, the following items are required to ensure straight through processing of a wire:

• Currency & Amount
• Beneficiary Name
• Beneficiary Address
• Beneficiary’s Bank Account Number
• Beneficiary’s Bank Name
• Beneficiary’s Bank Address
• Beneficiary Bank’s SWIFT Code
• Beneficiary Bank’s Bank Code

Q. What happens if I don’t use the IBAN?

A. Transactions placed without an IBAN will be rejected and bank fees applied. IBANs are already mandatory for several countries, including Romania and Luxembourg. As well, certain banks in Spain, Portugal and Hungary have been mandating IBANs independently.

• How to Transact
• Settlement Methods
• Regulatory Compliance
  • Bank Secrecy Act Regulations
  • IBAN