An International Bank Account Number, or IBAN, is a standardized account identifier used in participating countries to help route and validate payments. It identifies an account in a structured format; it is not itself a bank account type or a payment network.
How is IBAN used?
The payer uses the IBAN to identify the beneficiary’s country, bank-routing information and account in the standardized format. The sending institution validates the structure and routes the instruction through the relevant payment network. A structurally valid IBAN does not confirm the beneficiary’s identity, account status or transaction purpose, so those checks remain separate.
Quick reference for IBAN
| Check | What it means for the transaction |
|---|---|
| Category | Business payments and foreign exchange |
| Record to keep | Keep the currency pair, quoted amount, rate source, quote time, fees, payment route and received amount when they apply. |
| Do not infer | A displayed rate is not automatically the rate applied to the payment, and it does not guarantee the Recipient amount. |
