International Bank Account Numbers - Introduced by the European Committee for Banking
Standards.
The European Committee for Banking Standards has changed the way payments are made in Europe to
ensure that all the information is provided to process an International Bank Account Number (IBAN)
payment which will result in lower costs and improved straight through processing (STP) times.
STP is the electronic transfer and payment of funds to a beneficiary’s account without manual intervention
by the receiving bank. If a message cannot be processed using the STP rules, as required by the
beneficiary’s bank, the bank is then required to intervene manually. This means that it must manually insert
or correct information before the payment can be made into the beneficiary’s account. The beneficiary bank
would then levy a penalty for each message that it repairs. In some cases this may even result in the
payment being returned to the remitting bank after the deduction of a penalty fee.
The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) is a code that consists of a combination of numbers and
letters representing the country, bank, branch and account number as well as validation numbers known as
check digits.
IBAN is the main component of the system developed to standardise the identification of bank accounts in
Europe.
When completing Cross Border Foreign Exchange Transaction Reporting Forms, the IBAN should be
completed in full in the beneficiary account number field.
The IBAN is used to identify an account at a bank and branch in a particular country. This allows the bank
to process the transactions automatically thereby improving the quality of information exchanged between
parties involved in cross-border payments and also reduces cost, errors and delays. IBANs are used with a
Swift Bank identifier code (SWIFT BIC) to enable accurate, fast and efficient processing.
The IBAN is not a new account number and does not replace an account holder’s existing bank identifier
code (branch code) and account number. Additional characters are added to form the verifiable and unique
IBAN for each account that is already in place. The European bank issues an IBAN to the account holder.
We recommend that you request an IBAN from your beneficiaries if it is not shown on their
correspondence.
Example of a UK IBAN
Note that each country’s IBAN will differ in format and length. An IBAN issued by Lloyds Bank, London
appears as GB19LOYD30961700709943. Below is an illustration of how the code is made up:
GB
Country
code
19
LOYD
Check
number
Bank
309617
00709943
Sort Code & account number
Brief description of an IBAN
An IBAN consists of the following segments. Note that each country and even some banks may have their
own variations. Lengths and content may differ.
Generally, International Bank Account Numbers consist of:
 A two-digit country code – for example, GB
 A pair of check/validation digits – for example, 19. Some IBANs may have more than one set.
 Some countries, including the UK, have a code in front of the standard domestic account to identify the
issuing bank, for example, “LOYD”
 An account number (always present) and a branch number or code should be present in most cases.
A printed IBAN such as on an invoice, is likely to be prefaced by the word IBAN, for example,
IBAN AT611904300234573201. The sender of the funds does not need enter the word “IBAN” on the
bank’s application form to transfer funds.
IBANs can be obtained from most European suppliers.
Countries using IBANs:
-Austria
-Germany
-Belgium
-Greece
-Denmark
-Iceland
-Finland
-Ireland
-France
-Italy
-Luxembourg
-Netherlands
-Norway
-Poland
-Portugal
-Spain
-Sweden
-Switzerland
-United Kingdom
Examples of IBANs:
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Iceland
Ireland
AT611904300234573201
BE62510007547061
DK5000400440116243
FI2112345600000785
FR1420041010050500013M02606
PL60102010260000042270201111
DE89370400440532013000
GR1601101250000000012300695
IS140159260076545510730339
IE29AIBK93115212345678
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Norway
Poland
IT40S0542811101000000123456
LU280019400644750000
NL39RABO0300065264
NO9386011117947
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
PT50000201231234567890154
ES0700120345030000067890
SE3550000000054910000003
CH9300762011623852957
There are countries that do not use the IBAN payment system and below is a list these countries. They do,
however, have certain rules in terms of processing payments. Below is a guide.
STP requirements for countries that do not use the IBAN system:
Australia
Canada
United Kingdom,
Channel Islands &Isle of Man
South Africa
United States
6-digit branch code (for example, 123-456)
8-digit branch code consisting of: 3 Institution, 5 Branch/Transit numbers.
6-digit branch code (for example, 123456 or 12-34-56)
6-digit branch code (for example, 123456 or 12-34-56)
9-digit ABA or Fedwire code (123456789)
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or need more information.
Contact details:
0860 012 3006
Business online@standardbank.co.za
www.standardbank.co.za