Open IBAN account in the UK or the Eurozone. If you're doing business internationally it can come in handy to open an IBAN account in other countries. This is possible with B2B Pay. We can do this in various currencies.
IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number, which is an international banking system for bank account numbers. IBAN makes international transactions easier in many countries.
As opposed to a BIC code, which refers to a specific bank, IBAN refers to a specific bank account.
IBAN is used in all European countries (except Russia and Belarus) and dozen of non-European countries. Inside the European SEPA zone zone it's very convenient to transfer money to other countries.
IBAN makes cross border transactions a lot easier. It was initially adopted by the ECBS (European Committee for Banking Standards) to facilitate payments within the EU and later became an international standard, ISO 13616:1997. The current standard is ISO 13616:2007. As of early 2016 it's in use in 69 countries, besides Europe especially countries in the Caribbean and the Middle East use the IBAN numbering system.
Structure of IBAN numbers
An IBAN account number consists of maximum 35 alphanumerical characters and has a fixed length per country. The first two characters indicate the country code. Then there is a checksum of 2 numbers and then a national account number.
As opposed to BIC, which refers to a specific bank, IBAN refers to a specific bank account.
Within the European SEPA zone IBAN numbers are used, but also in for example Brazil.
IBAN countries in Europe, 2016
Country | Length of IBAN |
---|---|
Albania | 28 |
Andorra | 24 |
20 | |
Belgium | 16 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 20 |
22 | |
21 | |
Cyprus | 28 |
24 | |
18 | |
20 | |
Faroe Islands | 18 |
18 | |
27 | |
Georgia | 22 |
22 | |
Gibraltar | 23 |
27 | |
Greenland | 18 |
Guernsey | 22 |
28 | |
Iceland | 26 |
Ireland | 22 |
Isle of Man | 22 |
27 | |
Jersey | 22 |
Kosovo | 20 |
21 | |
Liechtenstein | 21 |
20 | |
Luxembourg | 20 |
Macedonia | 19 |
Malta | 31 |
Moldova | 24 |
Monaco | 27 |
Montenegro | 22 |
18 | |
Norway | 15 |
28 | |
Portugal | 25 |
24 | |
San Marino | 27 |
Serbia | 22 |
24 | |
19 | |
24 | |
24 | |
Switzerland | 21 |
Ukraine | 29 |
22 |
Non-European IBAN countries 2016
Country | Length of IBAN |
---|---|
Algeria | 24 |
Angola | 25 |
Azerbaijan | 28 |
Bahrain | 22 |
Benin | 28 |
Brazil | 29 |
British Virgin Islands | 24 |
Burkina Faso | |
Burundi | 16 |
Cameroon | 27 |
Cape Verde | |
Central African Republic | |
Congo | 27 |
Costa Rica | |
Dominican Republic | |
Egypt | 27 |
French Guiana | |
French Polynesia | |
Gabon | 27 |
Guadeloupe | 27 |
Guatemala | 28 |
Iran | 26 |
Israel | 23 |
Ivory Coast | |
Jordan | 30 |
Kazakhstan | 20 |
Kuwait | 30 |
Lebanon | 28 |
Madagascar | 27 |
Mali | 28 |
Martinique | 27 |
Mauritania | 27 |
Mauritius | 30 |
Mozambique | 25 |
New Caledonia | |
Pakistan | 24 |
State of Palestine | |
Qatar | 29 |
Réunion | 27 |
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon | |
Sao Tome and Principe | |
Saudi Arabia | |
Senegal | 28 |
Timor-Leste | 23 |
Tunisia | 24 |
Turkey | 26 |
United Arab Emirates | |
Wallis and Futuna |
Virtual bank accounts
With the IBAN system virtual bank accounts have become more popular. With many banks you can request additional IBAN numbers for your bank account.
Virtual accounts have also led to new innovation such as B2B Pay's European virtual bank account that lets you receive business payments for a much better fee than what a normal wire transfer would cost you - and which will include a way to automate the whole process thanks to our payments API.
Introduction by the EPC
Here's a thorough yet brief overview of IBAN by the European Payments Council, in less than 3 minutes.

How to open a bank account in Europe
We have a few guides to guide you through the process of opening a bank account in multiple European countries and explaining why a virtual bank account with B2B Pay may be a better alternative if you are transferring money outside of Europe and taking advantage of a better rate.
How to open a bank account in Austria
How to open a bank account in Bulgaria
How to open a bank account in Croatia
How to open a bank account in Czech Republic
How to open a bank account in Denmark
How to open a bank account in Estonia
How to open a bank account in Finland
How to open a bank account in France
How to open a bank account in Germany
How to open a bank account in Greece
How to open a bank account in Hungary
How to open a bank account in Italy
How to open a bank account in Latvia
How to open a bank account in Lithuania
How to open a bank account in Luxembourg
How to open a bank account in the Netherlands
How to open a bank account in Norway
How to open a bank account in Poland
How to open a bank account in Portugal
How to open a bank account in Romania
How to open a bank account in Slovakia
How to open a bank account in Slovenia
How to open a bank account in Spain
How to open a bank account in Sweden
How to open a bank account in Switzerland
How to open a bank account in the UK
How to open a bank account overseas
We have a few guides to guide you through the process of opening a bank account in multiple countries all over the world and explaining why a virtual bank account with B2B Pay may be a better alternative if you are transferring money outside of Europe and taking advantage of a better rate.