What is an IBAN and Swift Code?

When making a payment to somebody overseas one of the first things a bank or currency broker will ask you for is their IBAN and Swift Code.

What is an IBAN?

IBAN stands for International Bank account number;  it is a standardised account number system that is used across the world. It is not a new account number; it simply uses an existing account number together with a sort code to create an internationally universal number which helps to speed up payments.

Each IBAN is 28 alphanumeric (letters and numbers) characters long and will start with a 2 letter country code followed by 2 check digits.

It is essential that you never try to guess an IBAN as this can lead in incorrect information being sent and your payment failing to reach your beneficiary. Always get the account holder to check with their bank and confirm the correct information.

What is a Swift Code?

A Swift-BIC code or Swift ID is a Bank Identifier Code or sometimes it is easier to think of it as an international sort code.

Every bank across the world has its own unique identification code.

Each Swift Code is 8 or 11 alphanumeric characters long. The first 4 are the banks code followed by 2 characters showing the country. Next is the location code followed finally by the branch code.
Including a Swift code when making an international payment abroad helps to speed up the transaction process as the funds can be sent electronically through the Swift network.

Tip .. Remember to use our comparison pages to save money when sending money overseas.