Improving the accuracy and speed of payments in euros

Sending Payments in Euros

New European directives in place from 1st January 2007 require the inclusion of SWIFTBIC (Bank Identifier Code) and IBAN (International Bank Account Number) fields for EURO payments being sent to any EU member state plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland (together, referred to as "Europe").

Your beneficiary should be able to give you their IBAN and SWIFTBIC on request. This information will be available from their bank and may also appear on their bank statements.

If you do not have these details we recommend that you contact the beneficiary to obtain them.

If you choose to process the payment using alternative details e.g. using the National Clearing Code (NCC) or beneficiary bank name and address instead of the SWIFTBIC and the domestic account number instead of the IBAN then we must advise you that: -

The receiving bank overseas may return / reject the payment;
There will be an additional £7 charge levied to the payment to cover the costs incurred by the receiving bank overseas.

Please note that SWIFTBIC and IBAN are not mandatory for EURO payments sent within the UK. A sort code and account number are acceptable for a domestic payment.

Receiving payments in euros

If you wish to receive any payments from Europe in euros, you will need to ensure that your payer has details of your IBAN and your relevant Barclays SWIFTBIC. You can find this information clearly marked at the top right hand side of your bank statement or you can speak to your relationship manager or International Banking Centre to obtain this information.

Please remember - These new rules only apply to payments in euros and not to payments in pounds sterling or any other currencies.