Information about IBAN and BIC

IBAN – International Bank Account Number

CSOB provides its clients with the numbers of their existing accounts in the IBAN format. Beneficiaries of payments incoming from European Union and European Economic Area member states may obtain their account number in the IBAN format for their trading partners. This unified account number format allows automatic processing of incoming as well as outgoing orders of non-documentary payments, and its logical consequence is fee reduction.

IBAN description

The IBAN is an internationally standardized format of account numbers created in cooperation with the European Committee for Banking Standards (ECBS) and allowing unambiguous identification of the account, country and banking institution of the beneficiary in case of SEPA Credit Transfers. Classified as SEPA Credit Transfers are payments in EUR in the frame of the European Economic Area and Switzerland (an up-to-date list of member states can be found at the website www.ecbs.org  ).

The IBAN format structure in the Czech Republic has been approved by the Czech National Bank and registered at the ECBS. IBAN does not change the account number nor bank code in any way. New characters are only added to the account number (ISO country code, banking institution code and check numbers). IBAN for accounts administered in the Czech Republic is always composed of 24 characters and it may be written in one of the two following forms:

IBAN electronic form (payment orders sent through electronic distribution channel)

For example: CZ2803000080100566501963

IBAN written form (contracts, documents)

For example: CZ28 0300 0080 1005 6650 1963

CSOB provides its clients with the account numbers of their existing accounts in the IBAN format and with the BIC (SWIFT address) of CSOB = CEKOCZPP on account statements.

IBAN use

The IBAN account number standard was created in order to simplify and automate SEPA transfers. Use of account numbers in the IBAN format influences the amount of fees collected by the correspondent banks of CSOB and the bank of intermediary and the bank of beneficiary. If the payer/orderer – client of CSOB does not state the account number of beneficiary in the IBAN format on his/her payment order, the banks of beneficiaries in the countries where IBAN is used will charge additional fees in connection with such payment orders. Such fees are charged by CSOB to its clients, which means that their transactional costs increase. Aiming at eliminating these costs, CSOB takes the liberty to remind its clients that using account numbers in the IBAN format and its correct inclusion on payment orders leads not only to faster order processing, but also to a reduction of fees related to such payment orders.

CSOB therefore recommends its clients to use this new account number format when effecting payments to countries that use IBAN and thus prevent further fees in connection with such payment orders. CSOB clients will obtain the IBAN account numbers from their trading partners as a part of their bank connection.

To achieve faster crediting of international payments, it is recommended that the beneficiaries of payments incoming from abroad to inform their foreign trading partners of their account number in the IBAN format once they obtain it. If the payment orders from abroad whose beneficiaries are CSOB clients contain the account number in the IBAN format, CSOB will process these payments automatically as far as to the client’s account. CSOB charges lower fees to such clients who ensure that their trading partners send them payments using the account number in the IBAN format.

The IBAN of the beneficiary´s account and the BIC of the beneficiary´s bank is obligatory for making SEPA Credit Transfers in member countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU countries and Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) and Switzerland.

Financial institutions of the beneficiary in member countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area are entitled (pursuant to Directive No. 2560/2001 on Cross-Boarder Transfers in EUR) to refuse or return the payment to the payer’s financial institution if the beneficiary’s account number is not given in the IBAN format (including an invalid or incorrect IBAN format) or if the beneficiary’s bank is not given in the BIC format (including an invalid or incorrect BIC format).

The IBAN format of account numbers and the BIC format of bank cannot be in any way used for transfers in the Czech currency on the territory of Czech Republic in the inter-bank payments system using the ČNB clearing centre.

Entering IBAN into outgoing non-documentary payment orders

To enter the account numbers of their trading partners in the IBAN format correctly, CSOB clients must respect the rules set below. CSOB takes the liberty to remind everybody that if the IBAN code is entered in contravention of the rules below, additional fee may be charged as a consequence to the debit of the payer’s/orderer´s account. We therefore ask our clients to get to know this procedure in their own interest.

How to enter IBAN into written payment orders

In case of written payment orders (see printed form “ORDER FOR TRANSFER ABROAD AND A DOMESTICTRANSFER IN FOREIGN CURRENCY”):

How to enter IBAN in client applications of electronic channels

In client applications of electronic distribution channels, IBAN is entered into the relevant field in its electronic form (i.e. without spaces).

The word IBAN must not be included in these fields and the number must not include spaces:

in the client application ČSOB MultiCash 24 in the window “Place payment orders”, part “Account information”, field “Account number”

in the client application ČSOB Edifact 24 in the window “Cross-border payment orders” to the first line of the field “Beneficiary account number and name”

in the client application ČSOB Homebanking 24 in the window “Create cross-border payment order” to the field “Beneficiary account number”

in the client application ČSOB Internetbanking 24 in the window “Cross-border payment order” into the field “Beneficiary account number”.

General IBAN information

What is IBAN?

IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It is the ISO 13616 internationalstandard for numbering bank accounts. In 2006, the International Organization forStandardization (ISO) designated SWIFT as the Registration Authority for ISO 13616.

IBAN is an international bank account number allowing the account number of the respective client in the respective financial institution in the country given to be identified (it is a comprehensive identification of the account number including the code of the bank and country). The IBAN shall affect neither the existing bank account nor the bank code.

Use

The IBAN facilitates the communication and processing of cross-border transactions.

It allows exchanging account identification details in a machine-readable form.It is obligatory to use the account number in the IBAN format in cross boarder transfers between the members of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU countries, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) and Switzerland.

Structure

The IBAN structure is defined in ISO 13616-1 and consists of a two-letter ISO 3166-1country code, followed by two check digits and up to thirty alphanumeric characters fora BBAN (Basic Bank Account Number) which has a fixed length per country and,included within it, a bank identifier with a fixed position and a fixed length per country.The check digits are calculated based on the scheme defined in ISO/IEC 7064(MOD97-10).

Terms and definitions

Bank identifier: The identifier that uniquely identifies the financial institution and,when appropriate, the branch of that financial institution servicing an account(Note: In this registry, the branch identifier format is shown specifically, when Present).
BBAN: basic bank account number: The identifier that uniquely identifies an individualaccount, at a specific financial institution, in a particular country. The BBAN includes abank identifier of the financial institution servicing that account.
IBAN: international bank account number: The expanded version of the basic bankaccount number (BBAN), intended for use internationally. The IBAN uniquely identifiesan individual account, at a specific financial institution, in a particular country.

Submitters

Nationally-agreed, ISO13616-compliant IBAN formats are submitted to the registrationauthority exclusively by the National Standards Body or the National Central Bank ofthe country.

ISO 13616-Compliant IBAN Formats

This section shows the IBAN format of each country that has implemented the IBANstandard. The countries are listed in alphabetical order.

Current information about IBAN you may obtain on pagesww.cnb.cz   or www.ecbs.org .

BIC – Bank Identifier Code

The BIC is the SWIFT address of the financial institution which enables us to identify the financial institution unambiguously including the name and registered office of the financial institution in the country given.

The BIC structure is defined by SWIFT and consists of 8 characters (head office of bank) or 11 characters (branch of bank):

For example:

The BIC of the financial institution is obligatory for making SEPA Credit Transfers in member countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU countries and Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway) and Switzerland.

Financial institutions of the recipient in member countries of the European Union and the European Economic Area are entitled (pursuant to (EC) Directive No. 2560/2001 on Cross-Boarder Transfers in EUR) to refuse or return the payment to the payer’s financial institution if the recipient’s account number is not given in the IBAN format (including an invalid or incorrect IBAN format) or if the recipient’s financial institution is not given in the BIC format (including an invalid or incorrect BIC format).