Understanding IBAN

The International Bank Account Number (IBAN) format was developed by European Committee for Banking Standards (ECBS) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) to streamline the straight-through processing—the automatic debiting of the ordering customer and crediting the beneficiary account—of cross-border payments. SEPA usage rules require the use of BIC and IBAN codes to uniquely identify the banks and bank accounts of the creditor and debtor in all Euro cross-border payments. Besides improving the efficiency of processing cross-border payments, IBAN also makes it easier to validate foreign account numbers. The IBAN format is an internationally agreed upon standard that is defined in ISO 13616.

The IBAN varies in length depending on the country, but no IBAN is greater in length than 34 alphanumeric characters. The IBAN is composed of:

• Country code

  The first two characters of the IBAN are the letters that identify the country as specified in ISO 3166.

• IBAN check digits

  Two numeric digits that are used in the algorithm designed to formally validate the IBAN.

• Basic Bank Account Number (BBAN)

  The identifier used by financial institutions in individual countries as part of National Account Numbering Schemes that uniquely identifies an account of a customer at a financial institution. Also known as the Domestic Bank Account Number. Included in the BBAN are the:

  • BIC/SWIFT code. (bank identifier code/society for world international financial telecommunication)

    BIC, also know as the SWIFT code, identifies the bank and possibly the bank branch. To enable bank compliance, you must enter a BIC code for your bank. The system validates the formatting of the code, but not the value of the BIC.

  • Account number.

    The customer's bank account number.

  • Bank check digit.

    The one or two digits that are used in the formal validation of the domestic bank account.

PeopleSoft IBAN Processing

PeopleSoft provides sample IBAN formats for 38 countries. These formats can be viewed on the IBAN Formats page. The IBAN can be displayed on various PeopleSoft Financial application pages. These pages afford the user the ability to enter the IBAN manually or have the application generate it after the user enters the IBAN check digit. The method used can be done on a country-by-country basis that is determined by the IBAN Enterable field located on the IBAN Formats page.