IBAN discrimination

  • Updated

International Bank Account Number (IBAN) discrimination happens when companies don’t accept or recognize your IBAN, preventing you from sending or receiving Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) Credit Transfers and SEPA Direct debit transactions.

IBAN discrimination can occur in the following ways:

Type of discrimination Explanation Examples
Country discrimination A company rejects your IBAN because your payment account is set up in a different country, resulting in a different country code or length.
  • A mobile network service company in the Netherlands might only accept direct debits from IBANs starting with NL, preventing transactions from other countries.

  • An insurance company might require an 18-character IBAN, the standard length for Dutch IBANs, excluding shorter or longer IBANs from other member states.
Bank discrimination A company doesn't recognize your payment account provider as valid. You set up a direct debit with your internet provider. You expect your account to be debited monthly. Instead, you receive regular reminders about unpaid bills with no explanation.

Discriminating against an IBAN because of its country is illegal under Article 9 of the SEPA Regulation, Payment accessibility, which states that a service provider in one SEPA member state must accept direct debits from another member state, supporting your right to make payments across the EU.

This article outlines the steps you must take to report IBAN discrimination.

Reporting IBAN discrimination

To report IBAN discrimination, you’ll need to:

  1. Make a complaint to the company: write a formal complaint to the merchant explaining your situation and requesting the authorization of your details.
  2. Contact Swan Support: submit a request to Swan support, providing details about the situation.

    Tip

    Include supporting evidence of the discrimination, such as:

    • Screenshots or video recordings of the error message appearing while filling out your IBAN.
    • Specific evidence, such as terms or conditions listed in the subscription form, to support your claim of discrimination.

IBAN discrimination complaint template

You can follow this template to draft your complaint:

Subject: Request for authorization of SEPA transactions

Dear [Company Name],

I've encountered an issue with a [describe the specific transaction] using my account with [mention name of payment account provider] and a [enter country name] IBAN.

This refusal goes against Article 9 of the SEPA Regulation, Payment accessibility, which prohibits discrimination based on the country of origin of the IBAN.

My account details are as follows:

- SEPA IBAN: [insert your IBAN]
- Account holder name: [insert the name associated with your account]

Please update your system to enable direct debits and credit transfers from my IBAN.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

 

If you have further questions, submit a request to Swan Support.