What is IBAN and IBAN Countries List 2022

Most of the time when you want to send money abroad and especially in Europe, you will be asked to provide an IBAN code. An IBAN is a number that is used to identify a country and the specific account of the recipient during a cross-border transfer. This article will give you the full IBAN list of countries.

What is IBAN?

IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It is used to ensure that international money transfers are processed correctly. IBAN is mainly used across Europe, and other areas like the Middle East, the Caribbean and parts of North Africa.

How to Know My IBAN

You can know your IBAN by logging in to your online bank account and checking your bank statement. Also, you can also get it by generating one online through your online bank account. You can also use the IBAN calculator tool to help you generate your IBAN number.

You can also work out your IBAN by following the laid-down structure. Make sure that your IBAN number is correct. Using the wrong IBAN could make funds be sent back and in the worst-case scenario go to the wrong account. If you doubt, make sure to check your IBAN with your bank or use the online verification tool.

Once you have known your IBAN number, don’t be in a rush. Look for a money transfer service with the lowest rates and excellent foreign exchange services. Having a cost-effective way to send money is an excellent idea to help you easily transfer funds.

SEPA vs IBAN

SEPA stands for Single Euro Payments Area and is an initiative that integrates payments in the European Union. It makes it very easy to make bank transfers in this area in a common currency, Euro. SEPA countries usually have IBANs that they can use to make cross-border transfers. Read our full article on what SEPA is.

However, some banks within SEPA do not have IBANs. As such, to make bank transfers to such banks, you may need to use SWIFT.

IBAN vs SWIFT

SWIFT stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Its purpose is to identify bank accounts when making a cross-border bank transfer. Both SWIFT and IBAN are important when sending money abroad.
The difference between SWIFT and IBAN is the information they contain. SWIFT is used by a specific bank when making a cross-border transfer while IBAN is used to identify a specific account used in making a cross-border transfer.

List IBAN Countries

These are countries it is mandatory to use IBAN.

These are countries where the use of IBAN is recommended.

IBAN Discrimination

In some instances, you are likely to find a bank or an institution that does not accept IBAN. Instead, they require you to have a local bank account. This is called IBAN discrimination and is illegal.

The truth is that your account should be accepted by the EU regardless of which EU country you are from. You can report an institution that is IBAN discriminatory for action to be taken. When you report IBAN discrimination, your personal information will be hidden and no one can know it is you who reported it. Learn more about IBAN discrimination here.

Some online banks do not use IBAN of the countries where all their customers reside. For instance, Wise, formerly Transferwise, and Monese use Belgian IBAN, Bankera uses Lithuanian IBAN and N26 uses German, Italian and Spanish IBANs.

Final Word on IBAN Countries

IBAN helps one identify a country and a bank account that one is sending money to. It is very important and using the wrong IBAN could make the transfer end up in the wrong bank account. Therefore, make sure to use the correct IBAN which you can get from your bank statement or IBAN calculator tool.