IBAN discrimination: your rights when a foreign IBAN is rejected

What Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 260/2012 says

Regulation (EU) 260/2012, known as the SEPA Regulation, governs euro payments in the Union. Its Article 9 bans what is known as IBAN discrimination: neither the payer nor the payee of a payment may specify the Member State in which the other party’s account must be located, as long as that account is in the Union.

For a company based in France, a Spanish, Belgian or German IBAN is therefore as good as a French one, and the reverse is true: a Belgian organisation cannot insist on an account in Belgium. The rule works both ways:

• When you are paid: an employer, a public body or an insurer paying you by transfer may not require your account to be in a particular EU country.
• When you pay: a supplier, a landlord, a school or a public body that accepts transfers, or collects payments by direct debit, may not require an IBAN from its own country.

IBAN discrimination: a practice that persists

The rule dates back to 2012, yet refusals have not gone away. The European Consumer Centres Network (ECC-Net) received 4,688 complaints about IBAN discrimination between 2021 and early 2025. In 2025, it called for stronger enforcement of the ban across the EU.

In France, an inspection by the DGCCRF, the consumer protection authority, found an anomaly rate of around 25% among the 65 businesses checked. The issue was also the subject of a written question in the French Senate in November 2025.

These figures only count reported cases. Above all, they show that a refusal is nothing unusual, and that it is best challenged methodically: in writing, with a precise legal reference, then with a report if needed.

How to recognise IBAN discrimination

Before you challenge a refusal, check that the account’s country really is the reason, rather than a typo, a misspelt name or a missing document: a mistyped IBAN is rejected whatever its country.

Once that is ruled out, discrimination is easy to spot. It is not always an explicit refusal and can hide in a form or a procedure. Typical situations:

• an online form that only accepts IBANs starting with FR, or with a single country code;
• a customer service team asking for “a French account” or “an account domiciled in France”;
• an employer or an organisation refusing to pay money into an account located in another EU country;
• a landlord or a letting agency insisting that rent comes from a domestic account.

What to do about a refusal: a four-step method

Nothing obliges you to open an account in the other party’s country: it is up to them to follow the rule. If a payment deadline is close, ask them in writing how to pay on time while your complaint is reviewed, and keep their answer.

Otherwise, challenge the refusal in writing, with evidence, in four steps, whether you are dealing with a company or a public body:

1. Get the refusal in writing. An email, a screenshot of the form rejecting your IBAN, a message from customer service: keep everything, with the date.
2. Write to them citing Article 9. Send the letter below to customer service, then to the complaints department if nothing changes. Stay factual and polite.
3. Ask for a reply by a set date. Note the deadline, and follow up once if it passes without an answer.
4. Report the refusal if it persists. In France, on SignalConso; elsewhere, to the European Consumer Centre in your country.

Letter template citing Article 9

Copy this template, replace the items in square brackets and send it in a way that leaves a record: the customer service messaging tool, email or registered post. Attach evidence of the refusal.

If the other party is based in another EU country, you can write to them in their language or in English: Article 9 has the same number in every language version of the Regulation.

1. Subject: Refusal of my IBAN [your IBAN] – Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 260/2012 – [customer or contract number]
2. The facts: “Dear Sir or Madam, on [date], I tried to [pay your invoice / set up my rent payment / receive the payment of …] using my account [IBAN]. Your [form / department] refused this account on the grounds that it is not located in [country].”
3. The law: “Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 260/2012 prohibits both the payer and the payee of a euro payment from specifying the Member State in which the other party’s account must be located, provided that this account is in the Union. My account is held in [country], an EU Member State.”
4. The request: “I ask you to accept this account for [the payment concerned] and, where relevant, to correct your form. Please confirm this in writing by [date].”
5. Next steps: “Failing a satisfactory reply by that date, I will report this refusal [on SignalConso / to the European Consumer Centre].”
6. Closing: “Yours faithfully, [First name Last name, address, customer reference]. Attached: screenshot of the refusal dated [date], previous correspondence.”

Where to turn if the refusal persists

In France, report the refusal on SignalConso, attaching your evidence and the letter that went unanswered. State clearly the reason you were given: the country of your account.

In other EU countries, contact the European Consumer Centre in your country, part of the ECC-Net. This is the network that collects complaints about IBAN discrimination; it can inform you about your rights and the procedure, which varies from one country to another.

If the dispute is with a financial services provider, an insurer for instance, the EU’s FIN-NET network for out-of-court settlement of financial disputes is another way in. Whatever route you take, keep a dated record of every step.

Paying from a Belgian IBAN in your own name

A Belgian IBAN is a euro-area IBAN like any other: a creditor based in the EU may not refuse it because of its country. Its format, its issuers and the questions to ask before opening one are covered in our guide to Belgian IBANs for non-residents.

This is what CryptoIBAN offers: an account with a Belgian IBAN in your own name, funded by converting your crypto into euros, from which you pay rent, bills and tax bills by SEPA transfer. Your payee sees your name and a BE IBAN, as with any SEPA transfer. If a creditor refuses it anyway, point them to Article 9 using the letter above, and let us know.