What is an IBAN?

IBAN is the abbreviation for International Bank Account Number. You will need your IBAN for your personal or business bank account when transferring money internationally.

IBAN Worldwide

The IBAN consists of a maximum of 27 alphanumeric characters for European countries and a maximum number of 34 outside of Europe (German IBAN: 22 characters). However the United States does not use IBAN. Therefore, for example, Bank of America does not have an IBAN number.

XE Money Transfers and IBAN

Sign up for an XE account today. You can also find more information about IBAN codes at XE after signing up.

IBAN example

IBAN: DEXX CCCC CCCC AAAA AAAA AA

IBAN explained

ISO Country Code (first two letters): DE (Germany in the example above)
IBAN Check Numbers: numbers in place of xx in above IBAN example
Bank Identifier: numbers in place of CCCC CCCC in above IBAN example
Account Number: numbers in place of "AAAA AAAA AA" in above IBAN example

What is the IBAN for my country

Here follows a list of IBAN country codes (the first two letters in the example above):

BR is Brazil

DE is Germany

ES is Spain

GB is United Kingdom

IT is Italy

PL is Poland

SA is Saudi Arabia

IBAN: DEXX CCCC CCCC AAAA AAAA AA

What is the difference between an IBAN and Swift Code?

The IBAN is the number used to identify a bank account within a bank being used for an International Money Transfer whereas a Swift Code is the code which each bank has assigned to it. You can make a international transaction without a Swift Code or IBAN however most banks require this information when processing international money transfers.

Examples of Swift Codes:

Barlcays UK SWIFT (or SWIFTBIC) code is BUKBGB22:
BUKB represents Barclays
GB is the country code
22 identifies the head office

Bank of America Swift Code is: BOFAUS3N should be used for incoming wires in U.S. dollars. BOFAUS6S should be used for incoming wires in foreign currency. BOFA represents Bank of America
US is the country code
3N or 6S identifies the different office locations