IBAN Checker

What is an IBAN?

An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a standardised international numbering system developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the European Committee for Banking Standards (ECBS) to uniquely identify a bank account across national borders. Introduced under the ISO 13616 standard, IBANs were designed to eliminate errors in cross-border payments caused by inconsistent national account number formats. Before IBANs, each country used its own account numbering convention, making international wire transfers error-prone and slow.

IBANs are mandatory for all payments within the SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) zone, which covers all 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican. Outside Europe, countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Pakistan, Brazil, and many others have also adopted the IBAN standard. When sending an international bank transfer (SWIFT/wire), your bank will almost always require the recipient's IBAN to process the payment correctly.

Our free IBAN checker and validator performs a full structural and mathematical validation — verifying the country code, correct character length for that country, and the MOD-97 checksum algorithm — giving you confidence before initiating any international transfer.

IBAN Structure Explained

Every IBAN follows a fixed structure made up of three parts. Using a German IBAN as an example:

The total length of an IBAN varies from 15 characters (Norway) to 31 characters (Malta) depending on the country. IBANs are always written without spaces when used electronically, but are conventionally written in groups of 4 characters for human readability (e.g., DE89 3704 0044 0532 0130 00).

IBAN vs SWIFT / BIC Code — What's the Difference?

People often confuse IBANs with SWIFT codes (also called BIC codes — Bank Identifier Codes). They serve different purposes and are both often required for international transfers:

For payments within the SEPA zone, an IBAN alone is usually sufficient. For international transfers outside SEPA — for example, sending money from the UK to the USA or UAE — both an IBAN (or local account details) and a SWIFT/BIC code are typically required. Always confirm with your bank which details are needed for your specific transfer.

How to Find Your IBAN

Your IBAN is not a new account number — it is a standardised international version of your existing bank account details. Here are the most common ways to find it:

Common IBAN Mistakes and How to Fix Them

If our validator shows your IBAN as invalid, here are the most frequent causes and how to resolve them:

IBAN Length by Country — All 59 Supported Countries

The table below lists the correct IBAN length (total number of characters) for every country supported by this validator. Use it to verify that the IBAN you are checking has the correct number of characters for its country.

Check the Exchange Rate Before You Transfer

A valid IBAN gets your money to the right account. It does not tell you what the recipient will actually receive. Banks and transfer providers add a margin to the exchange rate, and that margin is frequently a larger cost than the transfer fee shown on the confirmation screen.

The mid-market rate is the midpoint between the buy and sell price of a currency pair — the “real” rate before anyone adds a markup. Comparing your provider’s quoted rate against it is the fastest way to see what a transfer is really costing you.

Frequently Asked Questions About IBANs