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Incorrect transfers caused by IBAN typing errors virtually impossible

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The two check digits in every IBAN make transfers to the wrong bank account as a result of a typing error virtually impossible.

Text “Over to IBAN” with green circles that together spell IBAN on white background.

The Dutch Consumers’ Association said that consumers made many incorrect transfers because banks did not check whether the beneficiary’s name matched the IBAN. In the summer of 2015, the Dutch Payments Association agreed with the Consumers’ Association that it would discuss the scale of the problem with Dutch banks and determine whether the existing process needed to be changed. As a result, from 2016 the banks would begin recording how often incorrect transfers were made and what caused them.

Since IBANs were introduced, their two check digits have made it impossible for a typing error to cause a transfer to be sent to a different bank account.

Consumers are responsible for checking that an IBAN is correct and have various tools available to do so. They can contact the beneficiary and, to check whether a company or organisation is acting in good faith, consult resources including ConsuWijzer from the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (in Dutch).

The Dutch Payments Association would examine whether consumer information on this subject could be improved.

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