Glossary · UK
What is IBAN?
An International Bank Account Number that identifies a specific bank account for cross-border payments, combining a country code, bank details and the account number.
Full Definition
An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a standardised, internationally recognised code that identifies a specific bank account, used to make cross-border payments easier and less error-prone than relying on each country's own domestic account number format. A UK IBAN always starts with "GB", followed by two check digits, a four-letter bank code, and then the account's standard UK sort code and account number, giving a single string (up to 34 characters for some countries, 22 for the UK) that fully identifies the receiving account for an international transfer. IBANs are mandatory for payments within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and are widely used for other international transfers as well, since the embedded check digits allow banks to automatically detect many typing errors before a payment is sent, reducing the risk of money being misdirected. UK current account holders can usually find their IBAN in their online or mobile banking app, on a bank statement, or by request from their bank, even though it is not needed for everyday domestic UK payments, which use a sort code and account number instead.