The Central Bank regulation is effective from 19th November 2011, whereby all banks in UAE are required to accept and process payment instructions with IBAN.

For receiving your salary in UAE, its mandatory to update your account number to IBAN w.e.f. 19^th November 2011.

In case the IBAN is not used, the processing of both Inward and Outward payment in your account  is likely to be rejected or may be delayed with additional processing charges as may be prescribed by Central Bank from time to time.

IBAN! What is that?

International Bank Account Number (IBAN  -  pronounced as ee baan) is an international standard for identifying bank accounts (excluding credit cards). The main purpose of IBAN is to facilitate the automatic processing of money transfers, to improve the speed and accuracy of your payment transactions. IBAN is the acronym for ISO 13616 standard compliant International Bank Account Number. IBAN is a unique customer account number which can be used confidently in making or receiving payments (excluding checks and credit cards) within the country as well as abroad. The confidence comes from two sources: the first is the internationally accepted standard for numbering bank customer accounts and the second is the ISO standard methodology for verifying the accuracy of the IBAN.

What does an IBAN look like? How to to write an IBAN

When you write or print an IBAN on a document, it has to be split into 6 groups of four characters each, e.g.: AE12 0030 0001 2345 6789 012  to support easy recognition. The last group of the IBAN for a customer in UAE contains three characters.

There should not be any spaces when entering the IBAN in an electronic payment message. The IBAN should be presented in an electronic payment message as a continuous string of characters i.e. AE120030000123456789012
This IBAN is constructed as follows:

The length of the IBAN is 23 characters.

IBAN format

Why did the United Arab Emirates decide to introduce IBAN?

Introduction of the IBAN is a strategic initiative that will further align the UAE banking system with the evolving standards applied in other global banking systems. The adoption of IBAN is a step in the direction towards increasing the efficiency of electronic payments in the UAE, while further strengthening the country’s status as a global financial centre.

Who requires an IBAN?

Bank customers, who receive or make electronic payments in UAE or abroad, will require IBAN. If you have more than one account at your bank, you will require an IBAN for each of your accounts.

How can I get my IBAN?

Each of your account numbers will be converted into IBAN format from November 19, 2011, and you will be informed of the details by your bank. Your bank will also print your IBAN on your bank statement(s) starting November 19, 2011.

How would bank customers benefit from IBAN?

The main benefit of IBAN to the customer is the assurance of their transactions made to correct account to be processed efficiently and with no delay. Since banks check the accuracy of the IBAN at the point of initiating a payment, they can only make the payments which carry the correct IBAN.

Does the existing account numbers become invalid with the introduction of IBAN?

No. Your existing account number will continue to be valid. IBAN is not a new account number. It simply represents the existing account number in an electronically recognizable ISO standard format. The adoption of IBAN in UAE does not require changing or replacing the existing account numbers.

For which transaction(s) can IBAN be used?

IBAN can be used for the domestic and cross-order payments. Additionally, the IBAN will be mandated for use in the Wages Protection System.

Is the IBAN to be used only for international payments?

Yes, Customers have to use IBAN in making and receiving international as well as domestic electronic payments.

What happens if we do not mention Beneficiary account as IBAN from November 19, 2011 onwards?

Banks will not reject such transactions from November 19, 2011 to 18th February 2012. However, it is likely that your transfer may get processed with delays and additional processing charges as may be prescribed from time to time.

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