An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is an internationally accepted numbering system that identifies individual bank accounts worldwide. It is a code that identifies bank accounts internationally and is used to process money transfers worldwide. Banks use IBANs to ensure payments arrive in the correct location and to process money transfers. In the UK, IBANs consist of 22 digits and include the country code, check digits, bank code, sort code, and bank account number. The components of an IBAN are:
- Country code: 2 letters that represent the country where your bank is located. For the UK, this is "GB".
- Check digits: 2 digits that are calculated with an algorithm and used to validate the correctness of the IBAN.
- Bank code: 4 letters that identify the bank.
- Sort code: 6 digits that identify the bank branch.
- Bank account number: up to 10 digits that identify the individual account.
You can find your IBAN on your bank statement or by logging into your online banking or mobile banking app. If you are receiving money from outside the UK, you will need to provide your IBAN to the sender. If you are sending money outside the UK, you will generally need the IBAN and BIC (Bank Identifier Code) of the person you are sending money to.
