All Ukrainian banks have fully completed the transition to the international bank account standard IBAN for easy identification of bank accounts and conduct of settlements between them.
From now on, Ukrainian bank account numbers will consist of 29 characters and conform to the IBAN standard used in Europe. Due to fewer payment details, the use of the international standard simplifies the execution of payment documents.
The transition to the IBAN standard started on 5 August 2019 and continued until 31 October 2019. During the transition to the IBAN standard, banks provided information on any new and changed, according to the IBAN standard, accounts of customers (tax payers) to the respective controlling authorities.
Statistics collected by the National Bank of Ukraine show that more customers have been applying the IBAN standard in their settlements. As of 31 October 2019, 103 participants of the System of Electronic Payments conducted 66% of the total payments using the IBAN.
However, customers still have some more time to get used to the new standard. Until and including 12 January 2020, old payment details can be used just as they were used before the introduction of the international standard. During this period, banks accept requests to transfer customer funds with filled-out Bank Code and Account details or an account’s IBAN.
The final transition to the IBAN standard for all customer transactions will take place on 13 January 2020. Starting from that date, customers will be able to conduct settlements only in accordance with the IBAN.
For reference
IBAN: International Bank Account Number. Each country defines the structure of IBAN in line with ISO 13616. For Ukraine, IBAN consists of 29 alphanumeric characters, comprising the country code, a check digit, a bank code, and an account number.
As a result of IBAN implementation, it will become possible to immediately identify the country of the settlement participant (UA – Ukraine) while the check digit will ensure the uniform check of the customer’s account and its validity.