The Introduction of The IBAN Most European Banks are currently adopting a standard method for recognizing and validating customer account numbers. This method is compliant to ISO 13616 and operates through the use of the International Bank Account Number (IBAN), which is a series of alphanumeric characters that uniquely identify customer accounts held at banks anywhere in the world. IBAN Application In line with European Banking Practice, and following the Central Bank of Cyprus requirement  BoB, Limassol, Cyprus, has allocated since April 1st, 2004 an IBAN number to be applied to all customers' accounts, insuring that this number is used in all banking transactions. Construction of The IBAN In Cyprus, the IBAN consists of 28 digits: • The first two alphabetic characters identify the country where the account is held. • The next two digits are the check digits used to validate the IBAN number. • The 24 numbers of the IBAN that follow comprise the number that identifies the Bank and the    Branch where the account is held and the beneficiary’s account number.