Albania IBAN Format (AL) — Structure, Length & Example

The Albanian IBAN is a 28-character code introduced to align Albania's banking sector with European payment standards. Albania is not a member of the European Union or the SEPA zone, but Albanian banks actively use IBANs for cross-border wire transfers, particularly with EU partners. The AL format is distinctive: a 4-digit bank and branch identifier combined with a 1-digit national check digit and a 16-character account number.

Albanian IBAN at a Glance

• Country code: AL
• Total length: 28 characters (always)
• Format: ALkk bbbssss x cccccccccccccccc
• BBAN length: 24 characters
• Currency: Albanian Lek (ALL)
• SEPA member: No

Albanian IBAN Structure Explained

An Albanian IBAN encodes five components within its 28-character body:

1. Country Code — AL (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Albania. Every Albanian IBAN begins with AL.

2. Check Digits — kk (2 digits)

Two decimal digits calculated via the MOD-97 algorithm over the full BBAN. They protect against transcription errors and are recalculated if the account number or bank codes change.

3. Bank Code — bbb (3 digits)

A 3-digit code assigned by the Bank of Albania (Banka e Shqipërisë) identifying the financial institution. Major Albanian bank codes include:

• 212 — Raiffeisen Bank Albania
• 213 — Tirana Bank
• 221 — Credins Bank
• 301 — OTP Bank Albania
• 401 — BKT (Banka Kombëtare Tregtare)

4. Branch Code — ssss (4 digits)

A 4-digit code identifying the specific branch within the bank. Albania retains branch-level granularity in its BBAN, unlike some fully centralised banking systems that use only a bank code.

5. National Check Digit — x (1 digit)

A single digit computed using Albania's domestic validation algorithm over the bank code, branch code, and account number. This check digit is separate from the 2-digit IBAN check digits at positions 3–4 and provides an additional error detection layer.

6. Account Number — cccccccccccccccc (16 characters)

A 16-character alphanumeric account number assigned by the bank. The account number may contain both digits and uppercase letters depending on the institution's numbering scheme.

Real Albanian IBAN Example

AL47 2121 1009 0000 0002 3569 8741

• Country: AL
• Check digits: 47
• Bank code: 212
• Branch code: 1100
• National check digit: 9
• Account number: 0000000235698741

Electronic format (no spaces): AL47212110090000000235698741

This is a specimen IBAN for illustrative purposes only. Validate any real Albanian IBAN instantly with the ibanchecker.cash validator.

How Albanian IBAN Validation Works

1. Country code: First two characters must be AL.
2. Length: Exactly 28 characters after removing spaces.
3. Character types: Positions 3–4 are digits (check digits). Positions 5–24 are digits. Positions 25–28 are alphanumeric (account number).
4. MOD-97: Rearrange the first four characters to the end, convert letters to numbers (A=10…Z=35), compute modulo 97. Result must equal 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator performs all four checks and displays the bank code, branch code, and national check digit for any Albanian IBAN.

Albania's Banking System

The Bank of Albania (Banka e Shqipërisë) is the central bank and monetary authority, headquartered in Tirana. It supervises approximately 12 licensed commercial banks operating in Albania. The Albanian banking sector has undergone significant consolidation since 2015, with several state-owned banks privatised.

Key commercial banks in Albania include:

• Raiffeisen Bank Albania — the largest bank by assets, subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International
• BKT (Banka Kombëtare Tregtare) — majority-owned by Çalık Holding (Turkey)
• Credins Bank — the largest domestically owned bank
• OTP Bank Albania — formerly Alpha Bank Albania, acquired by OTP Group
• Tirana Bank — subsidiary of Balfin Group

Look up any Albanian bank's SWIFT/BIC code using the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

SEPA Status and International Transfers

Albania is not a SEPA member. Payments to and from Albania are processed as international wire transfers rather than SEPA Credit Transfers. Both the IBAN and the BIC/SWIFT code are required for all cross-border payments to Albanian bank accounts. Transfer fees and processing times are higher than for SEPA payments; typical settlement takes 1–3 business days via the SWIFT network.

Albania is an EU candidate country and is undertaking alignment with EU banking regulations, including SEPA preparatory work, but formal SEPA accession has not occurred as of 2026.

Common Albanian IBAN Mistakes

Confusing AL with AT (Austria)

The codes AL and AT are visually similar. Austrian IBANs are 20 characters; Albanian IBANs are 28 characters. Any 28-character IBAN starting with AL is Albanian — the length alone rules out most confusion.

Omitting the National Check Digit

Some systems erroneously treat the BBAN as: 3-digit bank + 4-digit branch + 17-digit account. The correct split places a 1-digit national check digit between the branch code and account number, making the account number 16 characters, not 17.

Sending SEPA Transfers to Albania

Albania does not participate in SEPA. Attempting a SEPA Credit Transfer to an Albanian IBAN will be rejected at the originating bank. Use an international wire transfer (SWIFT) and always include the BIC.

Validating Albanian IBANs in Bulk

Businesses with Albanian suppliers, subsidiaries, or payroll recipients can validate multiple IBANs simultaneously with the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker. Upload a CSV with up to 100 IBANs and receive instant validation results, bank name lookups, and BIC codes for every row.

Last updated: June 2026