IBAN (International Bank Account Number)

Within the frame of European Union regulations, an international bank account number standard named "International Bank Account Number" (IBAN) has been developed in order to improve the speed and quality of money transfers across countries. IBAN is used in 33 European countries today. The objective of IBAN is to prevent errors occurring in money transfers between banks and other financial institutions in European countries and thus eliminate the resulting delays. Thanks to IBAN, money transferred from the sender's account is deposited to the recipient's account in a swift and mistake-free manner, and therefore, waiting times due to errors in transactions are averted.

While not compulsory, IBAN can be used to send remittances, i.e. in-bank money transfers. On the other hand, the use of IBAN is required for EFT transactions, i.e. money transfers from Garanti BBVA to another bank or vice versa, and transfers to European countries*. Still, in cases when the recipient's IBAN is not known by the sender in money transfer orders placed within the same day, it is possible to make a transaction without using IBAN by checking a box indicating "IBAN not known" at the time of the transaction. You should, however, always use IBAN for transaction orders placed outside of EFT hours or on holidays.
After a while, the exception for same-day transactions will also be removed, and the use of IBAN in all domestic EFT transactions and money transfers to European countries will be compulsory by law. Therefore, you need to share your IBAN with those who will send money to you, and learn the IBANs of those to whom you will transfer money.

• To learn your IBAN, you can use our IBAN inquiry service; or

• Display it under the Accounts and Products > My Accounts > Account section on Garanti BBVA Internet Banking.

• If you wish, you can also learn your IBAN via 444 0 333 Garanti BBVA Customer Communication Center or the nearest Garanti BBVA branch.
  

The most appropriate and guaranteed way is to learn the IBAN of the recipient directly from themselves. Websites of several banks also feature IBAN converters where you can enter the account number to learn the full IBAN.

These types of converters provided by the banks display the full IBAN without checking the accuracy of the entered account number. It is thus necessary to make sure you write the correct account number while using such converters. Please only use the converters featured on the official websites of banks.

Today, account numbers differ in every country and bank in terms of format and length. When customers have to transfer money to another domestic or international bank, they cannot be sure of the accuracy of the account number they obtained from the relevant recipient since there is no standard in account numbers.

In the case of procurement of products or services, on the other hand, invoices issued by many different suppliers have account numbers in various formats, which causes the import companies that will send the invoice amount to make mistakes in the process. As a result, inaccurate account numbers lead to money transfers being canceled; and the fact that the recipient account number is wrong is understood when the money reaches the receiving bank. Many actions are taken in order to rectify the incorrect transaction, hence longer transaction times and higher costs.

In countries adopting the IBAN system, a unique IBAN is provided to account holders for each bank account number. Having a certain format and standard for each country, IBAN contains a two-digit "check digit" obtained by way of a special encryption algorithm. When a customer wishing to transfer money to a domestic or international bank gives the relevant IBAN to the sending bank, the sending bank checks the accuracy of receiving account's IBAN before the money is transferred to the receiving bank. In case the IBAN is wrong, the money is not sent to the receiving bank, thereby preventing any incorrect transaction.