The IBAN system was designed to simplify the transfer of money overseas—but they’re used in some countries for domestic transfers as well. Separate from your account number and sort code, they include information about the account holder’s specific bank, the country that this bank is in, and a combination of other account details. This added level of coded security reduces transaction errors, rejected payments, and transfer delays across borders. IBANs can only be used to send or receive funds, and they can’t be used for other transactions, such as cash withdrawals.Each character set of an IBAN number shares a specific piece of information with banks. They begin with a two-letter country code—such as ‘FR’ for France and ‘DE’ for Germany. The next two digits are control checks, acting as a security layer specific to your bank. The remaining numbers are domestic banking details, also known as your Basic Bank Account Numbers (BBAN). The BBAN information will typically include a bank code and branch reference, as well as the account number—although formats can differ across IBAN regions.When you make a cross-border transaction, the characters that make up your IBAN number are run through the payments system used by your bank. By verifying the numbers and letters against their database, the system is able to confirm the sender’s account and that of the recipient. Special algorithms are used to digest and check the account information. If it’s valid, the payment will be processed.
