Awareness of the International Bank Account Number
First: definition of IBAN (International Bank Account Number):
A digital system represents the customers’ accounts in the banking sector, which works on facilitating the processing of financial operations to be handled easier and more accurate, which leads to less errors and avoiding delays.
Second: Format of “IBAN” account encoding:
“IBAN” account consists of 29 digits with special implications and denominations of each, which are the basic number of the customer’s account, in addition to some other symbols (Letters and numbers) that presence before the account number.
PS##SWIFTCustomerAccountNumber
Field 1: “PS”: two letters symbolizing the country.
Field 2: Check box, two digits only and are used to check the validity of the account number.
Field 3: Bank’s Code, consists of 4 letters as in the SWIFT code of the bank; which defines the bank’s identity.
Field 4: Account Number of the customer, consists of 21 digit and/or letter, in case there is a shortage in the account number; a zero or more will be added to the left side in order to make it 21 digits.
Third: must-know facts about the “IBAN”:
- “IBAN” is NOT a new Account Number.
- The current account number will not be replaced.
- The main account number of the customer will show up in the right side of the “IBAN”, while the new additions will show up in the left side of the “IBAN”.
- The “IBAN” account number is simply the customer’s account number in addition to some symbols and semantics.
- The “IBAN” must be written connected and complete, it is not allowed to separate digits of each other, it must be written connected and with no separations or spaces.
- Bank will start modifying their systems and their customers’ accounts to start implementing “IBAN” within the period until the 31st of December, 2012.
- “IBAN” will be used in local and international bank transfers. In case of internal transfers (from an account to another within the same bank); there is no need to use “IBAN”; whereas main customer’s account will be used.
- The Palestinian Monitory Authority has managed to register the State of Palestine among the states using “IBAN” in addition to its form in the SWIFT society, which is a society, specialized in connecting banks globally through the financial transactions. The society itself will distribute the Palestinian “IBAN” system to all the members’ countries to be used in their transactions with the State of Palestine.