Identify Individual Bank Accounts

ISO 13616 (International Bank Account Number - IBAN)

Primary Purpose: Identifies individual bank accounts

Level of Identification: Account level (specific account)

Purpose:

• Account Identification: ISO 13616 defines the International Bank Account Number (IBAN), which is used to identify individual bank accounts across borders.
• Error Reduction: The IBAN format helps reduce errors in international transactions by providing a standard way to represent bank account numbers.

Key Features:

• Format: An IBAN consists of up to 34 alphanumeric characters, including:
  • A country code (2 letters)
  • A check digit (2 digits)
  • A Basic Bank Account Number (BBAN), which varies by country and represents the domestic account number along with additional routing information.

Example:

• An IBAN might look like DE89370400440532013000, which represents a specific account in Germany.