Italian IBAN Format (IT): CIN Letter, ABI Code, and Validation Examples

The Italian IBAN is 27 characters long and encodes a unique CIN check letter alongside the traditional ABI bank code and CAB branch code. Italy was among the early adopters of the IBAN standard in Europe, and Italian IBANs are widely used in SEPA transfers across the eurozone. Understanding the structure prevents the formatting errors that are a disproportionately common cause of rejected Italian payments.

Italian IBAN at a Glance

• Country code: IT
• Total length: 27 characters (always)
• Format: ITkk C aaaaa sssss cccccccccccc
• BBAN length: 23 characters
• Character types: one letter (CIN) followed by digits

Italian IBAN Structure Explained

The Italian BBAN is derived from the legacy BBAN format and has five distinct components:

1. Country Code — IT (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Italy. Every Italian IBAN begins with IT.

2. Check Digits — kk (2 digits)

Two decimal digits calculated using the MOD-97 algorithm over the full BBAN. They detect transcription errors and never change for the life of the account.

3. CIN Check Character — C (1 uppercase letter)

The CIN (Codice di Controllo Internazionale) is a single uppercase letter unique to Italian IBANs. It is calculated using a Luhn-variant algorithm over the ABI, CAB, and account number fields. This domestic check character predates the IBAN standard and was retained for backward compatibility. Common CIN letters include X, P, Q, and others — there is no fixed value.

4. ABI Bank Code — aaaaa (5 digits)

The ABI (Associazione Bancaria Italiana) code is a 5-digit bank identifier assigned by the Italian Banking Association. Every Italian bank has a unique ABI. For example:

• 05428 — UniCredit SpA
• 01025 — Intesa Sanpaolo
• 03069 — Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena

5. CAB Branch Code — sssss (5 digits)

The CAB (Codice di Avviamento Bancario) is a 5-digit branch code that identifies the specific branch where the account is held. Like France's code guichet, the CAB is only meaningful when paired with the ABI.

6. Account Number — cccccccccccc (12 digits)

The 12-digit account number identifies the individual account at that branch. This is longer than account numbers in most other IBAN countries (Germany uses 10 digits, UK uses 8). Older Italian account numbers shorter than 12 digits are zero-padded on the left.

Italian IBAN Example Explained

IT60 X054 2811 1010 0000 0123 456

• Country: IT
• Check digits: 60
• CIN: X
• ABI: 05428 (UniCredit)
• CAB: 11101 (branch code)
• Account: 000000123456

Second Example — Intesa Sanpaolo

IT40 P010 2503 2000 0000 2345 67

• Country: IT
• Check digits: 40
• CIN: P
• ABI: 01025 (Intesa Sanpaolo)
• CAB: 03200 (branch code)
• Account: 000000234567

How Italian IBAN Validation Works

1. Country code check: First two characters must be exactly IT.
2. Length check: Total character count (spaces removed) must be exactly 27.
3. CIN check: Position 5 (the 5th character) must be a single uppercase letter A–Z.
4. MOD-97 check: Move the first four characters to the end, replace letters with numeric equivalents (A=10, ..., Z=35), compute modulo 97. Result must equal 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator handles the CIN letter automatically and displays the ABI, CAB, and account number as separate fields in the result breakdown.

Common Italian IBAN Mistakes

Omitting the CIN Letter

The single CIN letter at position 5 is the most common source of Italian IBAN errors. Systems that strip non-numeric characters from bank account fields will silently delete it, producing a 26-character string that fails both length and MOD-97 checks. Italian IBANs must preserve the CIN letter.

Wrong Account Number Padding

Italian account numbers must be exactly 12 digits. A legacy account number of 8 or 10 digits must be zero-padded on the left before building the IBAN. Failing to pad correctly shifts the entire BBAN and produces wrong check digits.

Using BBAN Instead of IBAN

Italian bank correspondence often shows the BBAN components (ABI, CAB, account) separately. This format cannot be used directly for SEPA payments — always use the full 27-character IBAN starting with IT.

Spaces in Electronic Systems

For API transmission and payment files, always remove spaces: IT60X0542811101000000123456. The grouped print format is for human readability only.

Italian IBAN and SEPA

Italy is a full SEPA member. All Italian bank accounts accept SEPA Credit Transfers and SEPA Direct Debits. Since 2014, IBANs replaced the old BBAN-only domestic format for all electronic payments inside Italy and across the SEPA zone.

For payments outside SEPA, you will also need the bank's BIC code. Search any Italian bank's BIC using the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

Validating Italian IBANs in Bulk

Finance teams with Italian supplier or payroll lists can validate multiple IBANs at once using the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker. Upload a CSV with up to 100 IBANs and receive per-row results including the ABI bank code and any structural errors.

Last updated: June 2026