Where to find it
Your bank shows your IBAN in the same places as your sort code and account number. Look in:
- your banking app, usually under the account’s details, information or “share account details” option
- online banking, in the account details or account information section
- a paper or PDF statement, often near the top, beside your sort code, or at the bottom of the page
If you can’t find it, ask your bank. Use the phone number on your card or the bank’s own website, and never one from an email or text.
Many banks also show a BIC, or SWIFT code, next to the IBAN. It identifies the bank itself. Someone paying you from abroad may need both.
What a UK IBAN looks like
A UK IBAN has 22 characters and contains your sort code and account number, so you can check it against details you already know:
This is the SWIFT registry’s sample IBAN, not a real account. In your own IBAN, the 6 digits after the four letters should be your sort code and the last 8 your account number. If they aren’t, you may be looking at a different account, or at someone else’s details.
Some accounts held with newer banks or payment apps are given an IBAN from a different country, for example one starting IE or LT. That’s normal for those providers. Use the IBAN your provider gives you.
What to give someone paying you from abroad
- the name on the account, exactly as the bank holds it
- your IBAN
- your bank’s BIC (SWIFT code), if they ask for it
- a reference, such as your invoice number, so you can match the payment
Give the account name exactly. Banks in the euro area must now offer a free Verification of Payee check, which compares the name the payer enters with the name on the account before a euro transfer is sent (European Commission). In the UK, Confirmation of Payee does the same for UK payments made with a sort code and account number (Pay.UK). A name that doesn’t match can hold up your payment.
If you invoice customers abroad, our invoice generator puts your IBAN on the invoice and checks it as you type.
Check it before you send it
One wrong character in an IBAN usually breaks its check digits, so a checker will catch most typing mistakes. Paste your IBAN into the IBAN checker before you send it to anyone. It runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.