What is an IBAN?

An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is a standardized format for identifying a bank account across borders, used widely in Europe and beyond. It encodes the country, a check number, and the domestic account details into one string, which makes cross-border payments — especially within the euro area — more reliable by reducing routing errors. When you pay a European supplier or receive euros from an EU client, the IBAN is typically the detail you exchange. It is not a separate account; it's a standardized way of expressing an existing account so any bank in the network can route to it correctly. For same-currency euro payments over SEPA, the IBAN is the key. Financiar supports EUR balances and same-currency euro payouts, keeping euro payments in euros end to end.

What an IBAN encodes

A country code, two check digits, and the bank/account identifier in a single standardized string. The check digits let systems validate the IBAN before sending, catching typos that would otherwise misroute a payment.

IBAN and SEPA

Within the Single Euro Payments Area, the IBAN is the standard account identifier for euro transfers, which is part of why SEPA payments are fast and low-cost. Same-currency euro settlement over this network avoids the conversion step entirely.