1. What does IBAN stand for? IBAN is the acronym for International Bank Account Number, an internationally accepted standard for numbering customer bank accounts. IBAN is a unique number that is generated for each customer account, and used in initiating or receiving payments (
excluding checks and credit cards) within the country as well as abroad.
2. Who issues this number? The IBAN is issued by banks in Qatar under guidelines specified by The Qatar Central Bank. No other entity may issue IBAN numbers in Qatar.
3. What is the IBAN used for? IBAN must be used while initiating cross-border or domestic payments (including salaries).
Existing account numbers. payments to your account with Commercial Bank from within or outside Qatar, you must provide your IBAN number to the remitter (for example, your employer).
If you are remitting money to another bank within Qatar, you must provide the IBAN of the
beneficiary. You must continue to provide a beneficiary IBAN for payments to other IBAN compliant countries. IBAN does not apply to credit card and cheque payments.
4. What are the benefits of using the IBAN? Usage of IBAN facilitates more accurate and faster processing of money transfers.
5. Is IBAN required for transferring funds between two accounts held at Commercial Bank? No, IBAN is not required in this instance. However the transaction will be processed if the IBAN is provided.
6. Is the IBAN used in place of the beneficiary account number when initiating a payment? Yes, it is. Please provide only the IBAN without mentioning the account number.
7. Are there other countries who have introduced IBAN? Yes, several countries world-wide have adopted the IBAN convention, including countries within the GCC. The current list of countries using IBAN can be obtained from the below mentioned website.
http://www.swift.com/assets/swift_com/documents/products_services/IBAN_Registry.pdf 8. Will the bank provide an IBAN number in addition to the bank account number? Yes, both numbers will be provided. The IBAN simply represents the standard account number in an electronically recognizable ISO standard format, therefore the account number will form part of the IBAN. The adoption of IBAN in Qatar does not require changing or replacing the existing account numbers.
However IBAN must be used only when initiating payments. Account number can be used for other banking transactions.
9. So, what else does the IBAN contain in addition to the account number? IBAN numbers issued in Qatar will contain 29 characters and will have the following information:
Example of an IBAN:
QA01CBQA000000004010123456001 QA = Country code for Qatar
01 = Check digits (this number is used for confirming the validity of the IBAN)
CBQA = SWIFT BIC code of Commercial Bank
000000004567123456001 = bank account number (prefixed with zeros)
10. Will a separate IBAN number be issued for each bank account? Yes, different IBAN numbers will be issued for each account held with Commercial Bank. This includes accounts in foreign currency.
11. Is it possible that another bank (perhaps outside Qatar) may generate the same IBAN? No, this is not possible. The combination of country/bank specific data makes the IBAN unique.
12. From when can I start using IBAN numbers for payments within Qatar? Use of the IBAN for payments will be effective 01 January 2014.
13. Will my payments get rejected if IBAN information is not provided? Payments transmitted without an IBAN (from the go-live date) may be subjected to delays/cancellations and additional processing charges.
14. How can I obtain my IBAN? In addition to having the IBAN printed on your account statement for the month of November 2013 and made available via your internet banking portals, we will separately communicate the other channels using which you can obtain your IBAN.
Our Contact Centre can be reached on 44490000 for more details. You may alternatively contact your respective Relationship Managers for more information.