How can I tell if an IBAN is virtual?

Look at who issued it. The checker names the bank behind the IBAN's bank code, and flags it when that's a payment provider, or a bank that issues IBANs for payment companies. Those IBANs are often virtual. Whether the account is in your payee's name is a separate question, which only the name check answers.

Is a virtual IBAN safe to pay?

Usually, yes. Many legitimate businesses get paid into virtual IBANs at Wise, Payoneer, Airwallex and similar providers. What matters is that the account belongs to your payee: check the name with Verification of Payee or Confirmation of Payee, and confirm new details by phone.

What's the difference between a named and a pooled IBAN?

A named IBAN shows your payee as the account holder. A pooled IBAN belongs to the provider, and your payment is matched to the payee by a reference, so the name check returns the provider's name or no match.

Why does the checker say a different company from the one I'm paying?

An IBAN belongs to the institution that holds the account. If your supplier uses a payment provider, the IBAN shows that provider, or the bank behind it. That's normal. The account name should still be your supplier's.

Does the checker know every payment provider?

No. It recognises 37 payment providers and the banks that issue IBANs for them, by the bank's BIC. An IBAN it doesn't flag can still be virtual.

Virtual IBAN checker: is this IBAN from a bank or a payment provider?

Paste an IBAN to see who issued it. If it's a payment provider, or a bank that issues IBANs for payment companies, the account may be virtual, and possibly pooled under the provider's name. Here's how to tell, and what to check before you pay.

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IBAN checker

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IBAN

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Country code: not checked yetFirst two letters
Length: not checked yetFixed per country
Format: not checked yetPattern for the country
Check digits: not checked yetMod 97 test

To name the bank, we look up only its bank code: the account number never leaves this page.

At a glance

payment providers and provider banks it recognises: 37
countries where it names the bank behind an IBAN: 46
IBAN countries whose format and check digits it checks: 89

What a virtual IBAN is

A virtual IBAN is a full, valid IBAN that routes money into an account somewhere else: usually a payment provider's account at a bank, which credits the right customer. It looks like any other IBAN, passes the same check digits and works on SEPA and SWIFT. What's different is who holds the account behind it.

The IBAN's bank code says which institution issued it. That's how the checker can tell a traditional bank from Wise, Payoneer or Airwallex, or from a bank such as Banking Circle or ClearBank that issues IBANs for payment companies.

Named or pooled

Named: the account is in your payee's own name. The name check shows a match, and the payment reads like one to any business.
Pooled: the account is in the provider's name, and the provider matches your payment to its customer by a reference. Leave the reference out and the money can sit unmatched.

The number alone doesn't say which. Named vs pooled virtual IBANs explains the difference in full.

When you're paying one

Run the name check. Euro-area banks show a Verification of Payee result before a euro transfer, and UK banks a Confirmation of Payee result. A close match or no match is a reason to stop and ask.
Treat changed details with suspicion. An email saying a supplier's bank details have changed is the classic sign of invoice fraud, whoever issued the new IBAN. Call a number you already had. See changed supplier bank details.
Include the reference the payee gave you, exactly, if the account is pooled.

When you're getting paid

Your customers' banks run the same name check on the details you give them. With a pooled IBAN, they see your provider's name, or no match, and some will stop to ask. With a named IBAN, they see your company, as if you banked locally. Align's EUR IBANs, and its USD, GBP and AED account details, are in your company's own name.

Which providers it recognises

The checker flags an IBAN when the bank behind it is one of 37 payment providers or provider banks, identified by the first four letters of the bank's BIC. They include Wise, Payoneer, Airwallex, Nium, Ebury, Currencycloud, Mangopay, Modulr, Qonto, Swan, Treezor, Holvi, Finom, PayPal and SumUp, and the banks Banking Circle, ClearBank, LHV and Solaris. Digital banks such as Revolut, N26, bunq, Monzo and Starling hold accounts in their customers' own names, so they're treated like any other bank.

For the full format check on any IBAN, with the bank's name, BIC and head office, use the IBAN checker.

Common questions

How can I tell if an IBAN is virtual?: Look at who issued it. The checker names the bank behind the IBAN's bank code, and flags it when that's a payment provider, or a bank that issues IBANs for payment companies. Those IBANs are often virtual. Whether the account is in your payee's name is a separate question, which only the name check answers.
Is a virtual IBAN safe to pay?: Usually, yes. Many legitimate businesses get paid into virtual IBANs at Wise, Payoneer, Airwallex and similar providers. What matters is that the account belongs to your payee: check the name with Verification of Payee or Confirmation of Payee, and confirm new details by phone.
What's the difference between a named and a pooled IBAN?: A named IBAN shows your payee as the account holder. A pooled IBAN belongs to the provider, and your payment is matched to the payee by a reference, so the name check returns the provider's name or no match.
Why does the checker say a different company from the one I'm paying?: An IBAN belongs to the institution that holds the account. If your supplier uses a payment provider, the IBAN shows that provider, or the bank behind it. That's normal. The account name should still be your supplier's.
Does the checker know every payment provider?: No. It recognises 37 payment providers and the banks that issue IBANs for them, by the bank's BIC. An IBAN it doesn't flag can still be virtual.

Sources

European Payments Council, Verification of Payee scheme rulebook, version 1.1
Pay.UK, Confirmation of Payee
schwifty, Bank registry, version 2026.10.1 (MIT license), compiled from national bank directories
Swift, IBAN Registry

The checker names who issued an IBAN; it can't say whose account it is. Always confirm the account holder's name before you pay.

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