Common IBAN Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Typos, missing characters, and incorrect country codes are the most common IBAN errors. Learn how to spot and avoid them before your payment fails.
Why IBAN Errors Are Costly
A failed international payment due to an incorrect IBAN can take days to reverse, and some banks charge fees for returned transfers. In worst cases, funds can be misdirected to the wrong account. Always validate your IBAN before submitting a payment.
Most Common IBAN Mistakes
1. Transposed Characters
Swapping two adjacent digits or letters is the most frequent error. For example, writing GB29 instead of GB92. The MOD-97 checksum catches most transpositions — if the check digits don't validate, the IBAN is wrong.
2. Wrong Length
Every country has a fixed IBAN length. A German IBAN is always 22 characters; a French IBAN is always 27. Entering the wrong number of digits is an immediate red flag. See IBAN lengths by country.
3. Including Spaces
IBANs are often displayed with spaces every 4 characters for readability (e.g., GB29 NWBK 6016 1331 9268 19), but when submitting to a bank system, spaces must be removed. Most banking systems handle this automatically.
4. Using Domestic Account Number Instead of IBAN
Sending your sort code + account number instead of a full IBAN will fail for international transfers. Your domestic number needs to be converted to its IBAN equivalent.
For a full breakdown of error types and what they mean, see our common IBAN errors guide.