To transfer money abroad or from a foreign account, an IBAN code is required. The mysterious string is nothing more than an international bank account number that simplifies banking transactions, including transfers of money from account to account. In this article, we will explain what an IBAN code is, what the mysterious numbers mean and how to get your IBAN.
What is an IBAN code? This question is asked by many people who first encounter this abbreviation. Most often, the question arises when transferring money abroad or from a foreign account. Then it is very often required to enter the IBAN code. Therefore, we decided to prepare an article to give you comprehensive answers to your questions.
What Is an IBAN Code?
IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is an international standard for numbering bank accounts that allows you to transfer funds to foreign accounts and receive transfers from foreign organizations to domestic bank accounts. The assumption about the introduction of the standard was to simplify the system of cross-border transfers. Thus, the IBAN is a unique number that describes the bank and account holder used for international transfers.
Currently, account numbers in the IBAN format are used by several dozen countries. To transfer money using IBAN, you need to check the code with the recipient.
The length of the IBAN number depends on the country where the bank account is opened, and the string of numbers representing the IBAN number must have the same number of characters within the given territory. Typically, your bank account number can be up to 30 characters (letters or numbers). For example, the number of characters will be as follows:
- for Poland – 28 characters;
- for Austria – 20 characters;
- for Norway – 15 characters;
- for France – 27 characters;
- for Belgium – 16 characters.
Accounts in Ukrainian banks are compatible with the IBAN system, but in order to better understand the structure and functioning of the standard, let’s first focus on the creation of an account.
Bank Account Number
It is a standard that defines the method for numbering bank accounts. An account in Ukraine always consists of 29 characters, the first of which are letters, and the rest are numbers. The structure is shown below:
AA KK BBBBBB NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN where
AA – 2-digit alphabetic country code (in Ukraine – UA)
KK – 2-digit verification number;
BBBBBB – MFO (Interbranch Turnover);
NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN – 19 characters identifying your bank account number. Typically, there are 5 zeros at the beginning to complete the code to 29 characters.
IBAN Numbers: In PrivatBank, Monobank, and Other Banks of Ukraine
Creating an IBAN number in PrivatBank, Monobank and other banks do not require additional operations or the use of calculators. The IBAN is based on our account number, to which we add the corresponding country identifier at the beginning.
Please note that for online transactions, you must enter the entire code without spaces. On paper forms, the number is divided into groups of four characters.
Currently, the IBAN standard is valid in most European countries, as well as in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Where Can I Find My IBAN?
We have figured out what an IBAN account is. Now it remains to find out where to find this number in order to make a transfer by IBAN.
Everything is simple here. You can find out your IBAN number in the Internet bank or on your bank statement.
Summary
The international IBAN standard was introduced to standardize the structure of bank accounts in many countries. This makes it easy and efficient to check the correctness of the account number. Also note that account numbers in national banks in some countries can differ from Ukrainian – for example, in the United Kingdom, bank account numbers consist of a sequence of letters and numbers.
Remember to always check the correctness of your bank account number before sending money. This will allow you to make the transfer correctly. In addition, it is also important to provide your correct IBAN number, so that you do not have to wait long for the transfer.