Concept Definition
What is an IBAN?
An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a standardized international system for identifying bank accounts. It consists of a country code, check digits, and a bank account number. IBANs are used in SEPA payments and are required on invoices specifying bank transfer as the payment method across most of Europe.
What is the IBAN format?
IBANs vary in length by country but follow a common structure:
- Country code: Two uppercase letters (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2). Example: DE for Germany.
- Check digits: Two digits used for validation.
- BBAN: Basic Bank Account Number, country-specific format up to 30 alphanumeric characters.
- Example: DE89370400440532013000 (German IBAN, 22 characters).
- Maximum length: 34 characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is IBAN required on a Peppol invoice?
- When PaymentMeansCode 58 (SEPA credit transfer) or 30 (credit transfer) is used in Peppol BIS Billing 3.0, the PayeeFinancialAccount/ID element should contain the IBAN. It is required for the payment to be processable by the buyer's bank system.
- Is IBAN used outside Europe?
- IBAN has been adopted beyond Europe. As of 2025, over 80 countries use IBAN for bank account identification. However, outside SEPA, many countries still use local account number formats. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, and most Middle East countries now use IBAN.