Information about IBAN

What is the ΙΒΑΝ?

The International Bank Account Number or IBAN, as it is commonly called, is a banking account structured according to the ECBS standards. Every banking account can be converted to an IBAN account by the bank in which the account is held.

What is the purpose of the IBAN?

The aim of the IBAN is to facilitate the automatic processing of cross-border credit transfers. Data correctness will be assured and manual intervention will be reduced.

How is the IBAN used? 

1. The IBAN is made available to the beneficiary by his/her bank. 
2. The beneficiary's IBAN is forwarded to the ordering customer.  
3. The ordering customer submits a cross-border credit transfer order, which includes the beneficiary's IBAN . 
4. The cross-border credit transfer message includes the beneficiary's IBAN, which has been validated by the ordering customer's bank. After receipt of the message by the beneficiary's bank, the beneficiary's account will be credited.

How can I find the IBAN format of an Alpha Bank account?

The account holder may find the IBAN format of his/her account either on the first page of his/her savings account’s passbook, or on the printed account statement mailed by the Bank monthly. 

Whoever knows an Alpha Bank account number, may calculate the IBAN format.

How is the IBAN constructed?

The IBAN has a maximum of 34 alphanumeric characters. In Greece, it has a standard length of 27 alphanumeric characters:

• the first two alphabetic characters identify the country in which the account is held (GR for Greece).
• the next two digits are the check digits. They validate the complete IBAN, and
• the final part of the IBAN is the Basic Bank Account Number or BBAN, which in most cases is the number that identifies the Bank, the Branch and the customer's account number1.

In Greece, the Basic Bank Account Number consists of:

1. Three (3) digits for the Bank's code
2. Four (4) digits for the Branch code
3. Sixteen (16) digits for the customer's account number*.

* When the digits of the account number are less than 16, the bank must complete it with zeros, placed at the beginning of the account.

How is the IBAN represented? 

The IBAN may be used in electronic and printed environments. The printed representation of the IBAN is the same as the electronic format except that when printed, a space is inserted after every group of four characters.

Examples

ΙΒΑΝ Validation

To prevent incorrect input, Companies may implement in their information systems the IBAN’s check digits validation algorithm.

SWIFT/BIC