Swiss International Bank Account Number (IBAN)

Representing IBAN accounts for Switzerland

IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It is a standard developed by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) and the ECBS (European Committee for Banking Standards) for the presentation of bank identification systems and account numbers, for which switzerland plays a significant role. Ever since 2001 switzerland was processing payment transactions quoted in IBAN format.

The main purpose of an IBAN is to promote straight-through processing of international financial transactions, thereby making the transfer of funds between different EU countries quick, fast and more efficient.

No bank charges involving IBAN

All payment transactions made within european union, quoted with IBAN numbers are charged like domestic payments, if :

1. The currency used is EURO
2. Account number is in IBAN format
3. Total amount less than EUR 12'500.

Thus, if you make heavy payment transactions withing european union, you can eliminate all the bank costs, by designating your account in IBAN format and currency in EUR. This concession is not possible for payment transactions done in currencies other than euro.

The SWISS IBAN is made up of the following elements:

* a two-letter country code (CH for switzerland)
* a two-number check digit (CD) for the entire IBAN
* a Basic Bank Account Number (BBAN), no more than 30 characters long, comprising
Institution Identification (IID) and Bank Account Number (BAN)

Swiss IBAN consists of maximum 21 alphanumeric characters, uniquely identifies the swiss bank, bank clearing number and customers account number, all included under one roof (IBAN format). When the IBAN is printed on paper it is split into groups of four characters, beginning from the left and separated by a space. While quoted iban in electronic format, it should be written contagiously, without any spaces or special characters inbetween. (Ex. payments using internet banking)

How to calculate swiss IBAN account number manually?

The swiss iban format are of 21 digits consisting of 4 parts.

1. Country code: CH - 2 characters
2. Control Digit (XX) 2 digits
3. Bank Clearing number (BC nummer) 5 digits
4. Account Number (12 digits)

It is not necessary that, the iban may contain only numbers, but can also have alpha-numeric characters. As you notice from the above parameters, we have all necessary data for iban but 'Control digit' is missing. For that see the procedure below.

Goal: To calculate control digit of IBAN from account number, and bc number. You can find the BC number of the swiss bank, here. Banks are grouped according to city/town name in switzerland.

For example, your account number is A-10.2450.26.01 and your account is with

CREDIT SUISSE (5) (Main Branch)
Bahnhofstrasse 53
Postfach 4879
Zürich
CH-8021

BC number : 554

Step 1:

First, padd your account number in 12 digit format, by padding zeros in the front. Strip off all the hyphens, dots and commas. Just make it plain.

Account number: 0A1024502601

Step 2:

Pad the BC number of the bank by zeros in front, if it is less than 5 digits.

BC number: 00554

Step 3:

Concatenate (Join) )your BC number and account number. This becomes

005540A1024502601 (17)

Step 4:

Again join the step 3 value to: 'CH00'

005540A1024502601CH00

Step 5:

In this step, you must convert the whole result from step 4 into numbers, according the table given below, by eliminating alphabet characters.

005540A1024502601CH00 becomes 005540101024502601121700

Step 6:

Now, you have to perform a modulo 97 operation on the result derived from step 5 and find that result

00554010102450260121700 mod 97

The result = 20

Step 7:

In this step, we will catch hold of control digits, because once we get control digits, then the data required for iban number is complete.

Subtract 20 from 98:

98 - 20 = 78

This is our controol digit.

Now, fill in the IBAN slots with our data.

Country Code: CH (2)
Control Digit: 78 (2)
BC Number : 00554 (5)
Account number: 0A1024502601 (12)
=============================
CH72005540A1024502601 (21) which is your IBAN number

CH78 0055 40A1 0245 0260 1

(An IBAN is always grouped in 4s separated by blans, when quoted in paper format).

How to check or validate a swiss IBAN manually?

To find out the calculated iban is correct or not, the same reverse procedure applies. Assume that our account number is CH78005540A1024502601

Step 1:

Detach first 4 characters(ISO country code & control digit) from IBAN and attach it at the end.

005540A1024502601CH78

Step 2:

Now eliminate all those alphabets by converting to numbers from the table given below

That becomes 005540101024502601121778

Step 3:

Perform a modulo operation with 97

005540101024502601121778 mod 97

which gives 1

THE RESULT OF VALIDATING AN IBAN MUST ALWAYS BE '1' from the modulo operation

Hence, the calculated IBAN number is correct.

Note: The same rule applies, for liechtenstein except the only difference is change in country code " LI ".

It is recommended that beneficiary customers use the IPI (International Payment Instructio) or the ePI (electronic Payment Initiator - EBS602) for communicating the IBAN, the bank’s BIC and all otherrelevant data, in order ensure that the ordering customersubmits a correct well-structured credit transfer order. If a beneficiary customer does not yet distribute IPIs or use ePIs he/she should indicate the IBAN as well as the related bank’s BIC on his/her letterhead and invoices, in the same way as he/she indicates data such as his/her domestic account number and telephone number.

Example

Customer
12, Main Street
City, Country
Telephone: 0033 1 12 34 56 78

Bank account number: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bank Address: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
SWIFT code: XXXXXXX
Bank’s BIC: XXXX
IBAN: CH76 1820 6000 1030 5696 6

If you own accounts of different currencies, such as USD, CHF, or EUR, then you have to quote your IBAN number in this format, specific to currency..

IBAN Account (CHF): CH76 1820 6000 1030 5696 7
IBAN Account (USD): CH26 1820 6000 1030 5696 8
IBAN Account (EUR): CH10 1820 6000 1030 5696 9

Quick reference to banks in important swiss cities:

IBAN format for other EU countries:

For more information about IBAN banking, specific to countries, please contact:

European Committee for Banking Standards (ECBS)
Avenue de Tervueren 12
B-1040 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 733 3533
Fax: +32 2 736 4988
http://www.ecbs.org

In switzerland,

Swiss Interbank Clearing AG
Produktmanagement
Hardturmstrasse 201
Postfach
8021 Zürich
Telefon: 01 279 47 47
Fax: 01 279 45 50
www.sic.ch

EuropeBanks.Info
Biggest Collection of Banks in Europe

Disclaimer: The information about banks published on this site may not be true or accurate at all times. Always contact your bank to verify swift, iban or other information used in payments. These parameters of banks are subjected to change from time to time. It is always recommended to check the calculated IBAN number with your bank, as the calculated IBAN using this tool may not be true or accurate at all times. There is always a greater possibility, that the BC no of particular banks may change from time to time, due to result of merging of banks or breakups. We accept no responsibility for any loss, damage, cost or expense of whatsoever kind arising directly or indirectly from or in connection with the use of our website by any person or organisation.

Copyright (C) 2005 SwissIBAN.com. All Rights Reserved | Français | Deutsch| EuropeBanks.Info| HR Directory