SWIFT Code Guide

When a shop refuses your foreign IBAN

What IBAN discrimination is, what the SEPA Regulation says, and your options when a trader refuses a transfer or direct debit from another euro country.

Official source: ECC-Net, IBAN discrimination, still an issue for EU consumers (3 July 2025). Checked

2 min. read · Review scheduled for 2027-01-20

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What it is

IBAN discrimination is when a person cannot make or receive a SEPA credit transfer, or pay by SEPA direct debit, because their account is in another Member State. A typical case is a subscription or utility that accepts only accounts with a local IBAN, and shows an error when you type a German, French or Romanian one.

The European Consumer Centres Network described the problem in a report of 3 July 2025 (ECC-Net).

What the rules say

According to the report:

  • SEPA Regulation, Article 9. A trader may not refuse euro direct debits or transfers only because the consumer's account is in another SEPA country.
  • Court of Justice, case C-28/18 (September 2019). A contract clause excluding SEPA direct debit for payers who do not live in the payee's Member State is precluded by Article 9(2).
  • Payment Accounts Directive (2014/92/EU). Consumers can open a payment account with a bank of their choice in another EU country.

The report adds that traders usually cite fraud prevention and higher credit-check costs, and says that with instant payments and payee verification in place these arguments can no longer stand on their own.

Why this belongs on a BIC page

Many of these refusals come from a form that validates an IBAN against one country's pattern, or asks for a BIC the customer does not need. Inside SEPA the IBAN alone is enough, as the page on IBAN only in SEPA explains. You can check that your own IBAN is well formed with the IBAN checker, so you can tell the shop that the number is valid.

If you are refused

  1. Check your number first. Make sure the IBAN has the right length and check digits for its country.
  2. Ask the trader in writing whether the refusal is based on the country of the account, and quote Article 9 of the SEPA Regulation.
  3. Keep a copy of the error message and the reply.
  4. Contact your European Consumer Centre. The ECC-Net handles cross-border consumer problems; find yours through the national centre in your country.
  5. Use another way to pay if the amount is urgent, such as a card. That does not remove your right to complain.

Limits of this page

We read one ECC-Net report. We do not cover each country's enforcement body or fines, and this page applies to euro payments in SEPA, not to every currency. Last checked 22 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.