EUR IBAN for companies outside the EU
Align gives companies based outside the EU a named IBAN in their own name, for receiving and sending euros over SEPA and SEPA Instant. The IBAN shows your company as the account holder, and the euros you receive land in your balance as USDC or USDT.
By Pavel Skalin, Founder & CEO, Align · Reviewed by the Align compliance team
Updated · 6 min read
The short answer
Align issues named EUR IBANs to companies based outside the EU. The IBAN is in your company's name, with your company shown as the account holder, and it receives and sends euros over SEPA and SEPA Instant. Euros you receive land in your balance as USDC or USDT.
Because USDC and USDT are dollar stablecoins (USDT vs USDC), a euro receipt involves a conversion. If you need to keep a euro balance as euros, a provider that holds euro balances will suit you better. For the difference between named and pooled IBANs, see named vs pooled virtual IBANs.
At a glance
| Align EUR IBAN | |
|---|---|
| Account details you receive | A named IBAN in your company's name |
| Rails | SEPA and SEPA Instant |
| Who it's for | Companies based outside the EU that get paid in euros or pay euro suppliers. Align doesn't onboard companies based in the UAE, and some countries and activities are prohibited |
| Whose name is on it | Your company's, as the account holder. The IBAN is permanent: issued to you and kept for future payments |
| How money lands | In your balance as USDC or USDT. You can pay out in EUR, USD, GBP or AED, or send USDC and USDT to wallets |
| Onboarding time | 1 to 5 business days for Align's compliance review |
| Pricing | Quoted on request: contact us |
What EU payers need from you
Give payers your IBAN and your company's legal name, exactly as registered. They don't need a BIC: Article 5(7) of the SEPA Regulation stops providers requiring one. Article 9 also stops a payer insisting that your account be in a particular member state, which protects IBANs issued in the EU. Ask any provider which country code its IBAN carries.
The name matters because of Verification of Payee (VoP). Since 9 October 2025, payment providers in the euro area have had to offer payers a check of the payee's name against the IBAN before a euro transfer is authorized. Under the European Payments Council (EPC) rulebook, the payer gets one of four results:
- Match: the name and IBAN agree.
- Close match: the payer's bank shows the name actually held for the account.
- No match: the payer is warned the money may go to an account the intended payee doesn't hold.
- Verification check not possible: the same warning, used when the payee's provider can't run the check or doesn't answer in time.
Providers in EU countries outside the euro area must offer VoP from 9 July 2027. The EPC rulebook also lets a payer check a company by an identification code, such as a VAT number or LEI, instead of its name, where the payer's bank offers it and the payee's bank supports that code.
Keep your registered address ready in structured form, with street, town, postcode and country in separate fields. The EPC had planned to stop accepting fully unstructured addresses in November 2026, but its address guidance of 30 September 2026 postponed that date without setting a new one.
SEPA and SEPA Instant: speed and reach
| SEPA Credit Transfer | SEPA Instant | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | Credited to the payee's bank within one banking business day | Funds available within 10 seconds |
| Hours | Banking business days | 24 hours a day, every day of the year |
| Coverage | 41 SEPA countries | Euro-area banks must receive it (since 9 January 2025) and send it (since 9 October 2025) |
SEPA Instant has had no scheme maximum since October 2025, though each bank can set its own limit. The Instant Payments Regulation is still rolling out. Banks in EU countries outside the euro area must receive instant euro payments by 9 January 2027 and send them by 9 July 2027, and payment and e-money institutions have until 9 April 2027 to receive them. In the euro area, an instant transfer can't cost the payer more than a standard one. For when SWIFT is still the right rail, see SEPA Instant vs SWIFT.
Why euro payments fail or come back
The EPC's guidance on reason codes lists why a SEPA transfer is rejected or returned. These five are the ones a payee can do something about:
- AC01, incorrect account number: the IBAN is invalid or the account doesn't exist. Send your IBAN as text the payer can copy, not as an image.
- AC04, closed account: the account has been closed. If you change accounts, send customers the new IBAN in writing.
- RR04, regulatory reason: a possible anti-money-laundering, embargo or terrorist financing hit stopped the payment.
- BE04, missing creditor address: the payee's address was missing or invalid and was needed to process the payment.
- CNOR, creditor bank not registered: the payee's bank isn't registered as a scheme participant under that BIC in the clearing system, so the payer has to ask the payee how it can receive the transfer through another provider.
Under the EPC rulebook, the payee's bank must send a return to the payer's bank within three banking business days after settlement. A VoP no match is different: nothing is rejected, but the payer may stop before sending.
What to check when choosing a provider
- Whose name is on the IBAN. If it's the provider's, your payers' VoP checks run against the provider's name, not yours.
- The IBAN's country code and who holds the master account. An IBAN issued in an EU member state is covered by the SEPA Regulation's rule against IBAN discrimination.
- Whether it receives SEPA Instant now. Some providers have until 2027 to support it.
- What happens to the euros. Some providers keep them as euros. With Align they land as USDC or USDT, and the stablecoin is converted when you pay a supplier, so ask for conversion pricing when you request a quote.
How to open one
- Create an account online. It takes a few minutes.
- Upload your company documents. This takes 5 to 10 minutes if you have them ready. The KYB documents guide lists what to prepare.
- Wait for the compliance review. Align's compliance team reviews your documents in 1 to 5 business days. Your application shows Pending KYC Completion until documents are submitted, Pending while they're under review, Resubmission Required if Align needs more information or a replacement document, and Approved when the account is active.
Once you're live, payments to third parties such as suppliers go out from your named account, and Align may ask for the invoice behind a payment. Read the prohibited and restricted use policy before you apply.
Align's regulated services are provided through licensed financial institutions. Align is registered with FINTRAC in Canada as a money services business and isn't authorized under MiCA.
Sources
- European Central Bank, Instant Payments Regulation
- Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, consolidated text (as amended to April 2024)
- European Payments Council, Verification of Payee scheme rulebook, version 1.1 (March 2026, effective September 2026)
- European Payments Council, SEPA Credit Transfer and 2025 SCT rulebook
- European Payments Council, SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (2025 rulebook, in effect since 5 October 2025)
- European Payments Council, Guidance on reason codes for SCT R-transactions (November 2024)
- European Payments Council, Guidance on the provision of addresses, version 2.2 (September 2026)
- Banco de España, IBAN discrimination: what it is and how to act (April 2025)
- Align docs, Virtual accounts and Business (KYB) verification
Common questions
- Can a company outside the EU get a EUR IBAN?
- Yes. Align issues named IBANs in the company's own name to companies based outside the EU, for receiving and sending euros over SEPA and SEPA Instant. Euros you receive land in your balance as USDC or USDT.
- What will payers see when their bank checks my name?
- Verification of Payee compares the name the payer types with the name the payee's provider holds for the IBAN, and returns a match, close match, no match or 'verification check not possible'. On a close match, the payer's bank shows them the name held for the account. Align's IBANs are in your company's name, so give payers your exact legal name.
- Do payers need my BIC?
- No. Under the SEPA Regulation, a payment provider in the EU can't require its customer to give the payee's BIC for a euro transfer. Your IBAN and your company's legal name are enough.
- How quickly do euro payments arrive?
- A SEPA Instant payment is available within 10 seconds, at any hour on any day. A standard SEPA transfer reaches the payee's bank within one banking business day.
This page is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and providers' terms change; check the sources linked above and take advice on your own situation.
Related reading
Open a business account built on stablecoins.
Named USD, EUR, GBP and AED accounts in your company's name, with USDC and USDT in and out. Apply online; our compliance team reviews applications in 1 to 5 business days.