Find, verify, and calculate an IBAN

You can find your IBAN quickly in several ways. The fastest is through your online banking portal or your bank's mobile app. Your IBAN is usually displayed under "Account details" or "Account information." 

1. Online banking / Mobile app: Under "Account details" or "Account information", the fastest and most reliable option.
2. Account statement (digital or paper): Your IBAN appears on every account statement, usually at the top.
3. Customer support: By phone, in-app chat, or email through your bank.

The International Bank Account Number is more than just an account number. As a globally recognized standard format, it ensures that transfers, domestic and international, are processed quickly, accurately, and without errors.

• Standardization: A uniform account format recognized in more than 80 countries
• Error prevention: A built-in check digit automatically detects input errors before a transfer is made
• Efficiency: Faster processing of cross-border payments through consistent handling
• Uniqueness: Every IBAN identifies a single account worldwide, eliminating any risk of confusion

IBAN and BIC complement each other but serve different purposes: the IBAN uniquely identifies a specific bank account. The BIC, also known as the SWIFT code, identifies the bank or financial institution itself.

For SEPA transfers within Europe, the IBAN alone is generally sufficient, the BIC is optional, as it can often be derived from the IBAN. For transfers outside the SEPA zone, the BIC is required in addition to the IBAN.

Small errors when entering an IBAN can cause a transfer to fail or, in the worst case, send funds to the wrong recipient. Here are the most common sources of error:

• Confusing "O" and "0": IBANs consist only of digits and uppercase letters. When in doubt, copy the IBAN instead of typing it manually, this reliably prevents typos
• Missing leading zeros: Account numbers are padded with leading zeros within the IBAN. Our tool handles this automatically when calculating an IBAN
• Incorrect country code: Make sure the first two letters match the correct country, for example, "FR" for France, "BE" for Belgium
• Spaces in the IBAN: Spaces are used only for readability (e.g., FR76 1234 5678). For transfers, they are automatically ignored, both formats are valid

The IBAN itself contains an indication of the bank, but not a directly readable bank name. In a French IBAN (FR), starting from position 5, you'll find the bank code, which uniquely identifies the credit institution.

Structure of a French IBAN (example)

FR76 12345 12345 12345678901 12

• FR – Country code
• 76 – Check digits
• 12345 – Bank code → identifies the bank
• 12345 – Branch code → identifies the branch
• 12345678901 – Account number
• 12 – RIB key

How to find the bank associated with an IBAN:

• Extract the bank code: positions 5 to 9 of the French IBAN
• Banque de France bank code directory: the official directory links each bank code to a credit institution, available free of charge at banque-france.fr
• Derive the BIC: many banks publish the bank code → BIC mapping; the BIC (Bank Identifier Code) uniquely identifies the bank at an international level