ISO 13616-1:2020 defines the International Bank Account Number's structure: country code, check digits and a country-specific basic account number. It gives payment systems a outer format for account identification, while each country's format determines the account structure.
TL;DR:
- ISO 13616-1:2020 defines the structure of the IBAN.
- The identifier supports international account-data interchange.
- It does not define message routing or internal processing systems.
Summary
Account-number structure
ISO 13616-1:2020 specifies the elements of the international bank account number. Its purpose is to facilitate international data interchange in financial environments and within or between other industries.
Use across media
IBAN is designed for automated processing and can also be used in suitable paper-document exchanges. The standard concerns the textual account identifier that is carried through those channels.
Routing and systems boundary
The public abstract explicitly excludes internal procedures, file organisation, storage media and implementation languages. It also says the IBAN is not designed to facilitate message routing within a network. An account identifier and a network-routing mechanism are therefore distinct.
Edition and maintenance
ISO lists edition 2, published in September 2020 and confirmed in 2026. A maintenance agency or registration authority supports updates. Confirmation of the edition should be distinguished from changes to individual national IBAN information.
Keywords
- IBAN
- Account Identification
- International Banking
- Textual Data
- Automated Processing
- Paper Documents
- Identifier Structure
- Maintenance Agency
- Data Interchange
- Bank Accounts