What is an IBAN? An IBAN or International Bank Account Number is
a series of alphanumeric characters that uniquely identifies a
customer’s account held at a bank anywhere in the world. Why is
the IBAN so important? Cross-border transactions introduce a
further level of complexity above that of domestic clearing, as
there are many variations in the way countries undertake payment
processing. Since it is unrealistic to expect the payment
Originator to understand the subtleties of multiple domestic
clearing systems, it is not surprising that error rates for
international payments are significant. These errors frequently
lead to payments being rejected, resulting in a negative impact
on customer service and increased administration costs. The IBAN
has been introduced to help reduce problems with cross-border
transactions by providing a standard format for displaying and
validating international bank account numbers. How does an IBAN
work? An International Bank Account Number typically contains a
two-character ISO