Bosnia and Herzegovina IBAN Format (BA) — Structure, Length & Example

The Bosnia and Herzegovina IBAN is a 20-character code used by both banking entities that operate in the country: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. Bosnia is not an EU or SEPA member, but its banks use IBANs for all international transfers. The BA BBAN encodes a 3-digit bank code, a 3-digit branch code, an 8-digit account number, and a 2-digit domestic check number.

Bosnian IBAN at a Glance

• Country code: BA
• Total length: 20 characters (always)
• Format: BAkk bbb sss cccccccc dd
• BBAN length: 16 digits
• Currency: Bosnia and Herzegovina Convertible Mark (BAM)
• SEPA member: No

Bosnian IBAN Structure Explained

A Bosnian IBAN encodes five components within its 20-character body:

1. Country Code — BA (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Every Bosnian IBAN begins with BA.

2. Check Digits — kk (2 digits)

Two decimal digits calculated via the MOD-97 algorithm over the full BBAN. The IBAN check digits for Bosnian accounts are always 39 because the domestic algorithm fixes the national check number such that the MOD-97 result is 1 when the IBAN check digits are 39. In practice every valid BA IBAN has check digits 39.

3. Bank Code — bbb (3 digits)

A 3-digit code identifying the financial institution, assigned by the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Centralna banka Bosne i Hercegovine). Common bank codes:

• 129 — UniCredit Bank Bosna i Hercegovina
• 161 — Raiffeisen Bank Bosna i Hercegovina
• 199 — Sparkasse Bank BiH
• 154 — NLB Banka Sarajevo
• 176 — Addiko Bank BiH

4. Branch Code — sss (3 digits)

A 3-digit branch identifier within the bank. Bosnia's branching structure reflects the dual-entity administrative organisation of the country, and branch codes map to specific cantonal or entity locations.

5. Account Number — cccccccc (8 digits)

An 8-digit individual account number assigned by the bank. This is the core customer account identifier within the branch.

6. National Check Digits — dd (2 digits)

Two domestic check digits computed using the modulo-97 algorithm applied to the bank code, branch code, and account number. These national check digits are separate from the 2-digit IBAN check digits at positions 3–4 and are computed before the IBAN check digits are derived.

Real Bosnian IBAN Example

BA39 1290 0794 0102 8494

• Country: BA
• Check digits: 39
• Bank code: 129 (UniCredit Bank BiH)
• Branch code: 007
• Account number: 94010284
• National check digits: 94

Electronic format (no spaces): BA3912900794010284 94 → BA391290079401028494

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

Why Bosnian IBANs Always Have Check Digits 39

Bosnia's domestic account numbering system uses its own modulo-97 algorithm to produce the 2-digit national check number (the last two digits of the BBAN). This domestic check is computed first and constrains the BBAN value in such a way that the IBAN-level MOD-97 check always yields the same result: check digits 39. A Bosnian IBAN with any other check digit value is invalid.

How Bosnian IBAN Validation Works

1. Country code: First two characters must be BA.
2. Length: Exactly 20 characters after removing spaces.
3. Check digits must be 39: Positions 3–4 must contain 39 — any other value is automatically invalid.
4. All numeric BBAN: All 16 BBAN characters are decimal digits.
5. MOD-97: Rearrange the first four characters to the end and compute modulo 97. Result must equal 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator applies all checks and decodes the bank code, branch code, account number, and national check digits for any Bosnian IBAN.

Bosnia's Banking System

The Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) is headquartered in Sarajevo. Unusually for a central bank, the CBBH operates under a currency board arrangement: the Bosnian Convertible Mark (BAM) is pegged to the Euro at a fixed rate of 1.95583 BAM = 1 EUR — the same rate as the former Deutsche Mark. The CBBH does not conduct monetary policy in the conventional sense; it only issues currency backed 100% by its euro reserves.

Key commercial banks include:

• UniCredit Bank Bosna i Hercegovina — largest bank by assets, subsidiary of UniCredit Group (Italy)
• Raiffeisen Bank BiH — subsidiary of Raiffeisen Bank International
• Sparkasse Bank BiH — subsidiary of Steiermärkische Sparkasse (Austria)
• NLB Banka Sarajevo — subsidiary of NLB Group (Slovenia)
• Addiko Bank BiH — part of Addiko Bank AG (Austria)

Find any Bosnian bank's BIC with the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

SEPA Status and International Transfers

Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a SEPA member. All cross-border payments require an international wire transfer through the SWIFT network; both the IBAN and the BIC are mandatory. The BAM's fixed peg to the euro makes EUR-to-BAM conversions predictable, but SWIFT fees and correspondent bank charges apply to every transaction.

Bosnia is an EU candidate country, but SEPA accession depends on EU membership or a bilateral agreement with the European Payments Council, neither of which has occurred as of 2026.

Common Bosnian IBAN Mistakes

Expecting Different Check Digits

Many systems flag Bosnian IBANs because every valid BA IBAN has check digits 39. Systems designed for other countries may assume any two-digit check value is acceptable and fail to warn users when they receive an IBAN with non-39 check digits, which would be invalid for Bosnia.

Treating the National Check Digits as Part of the Account Number

The last two digits of a Bosnian BBAN are national check digits, not an extension of the account number. The core account number is only 8 digits (positions 7–14 of the BBAN), not 10.

Using SEPA Transfer to Bosnia

SEPA transfers cannot be directed to Bosnian accounts. The bank's system will reject a SEPA Credit Transfer instruction for a BA IBAN. Always use an international SWIFT wire transfer.

Validating Bosnian IBANs in Bulk

Finance teams processing payroll or supplier payments across the Western Balkans can validate multiple IBANs at once with the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker. Upload a CSV with up to 100 IBANs and receive instant results including bank identification and BIC codes.

Last updated: June 2026