The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is an internationally agreed system of identifying bank accounts across national borders to facilitate the communication and processing of cross-border transactions with a reduced risk of transcription errors. An IBAN uniquely identifies the account of a customer at a financial institution. It consists of up to 34 alphanumeric characters, comprising a country code, two check digits and a basic bank account number. The check digits enable a degree of automation in the verification process for the correctness of an IBAN. IBANs are used by banks and other financial institutions to process international money transfers, direct debits and standing orders. They are long and may be up to 34 characters long – so make sure you enter them accurately. The information you’ll need will depend on where you’re sending money to or from, but typically you’ll need the full name, address, IBAN and SWIFT/BIC code of your recipient’s bank. You can normally find this information on your recipient’s bank statement or by contacting their bank directly.
