IBAN stands for International Bank Account Number. It is comprised of the national bank code, sort code and account number. The IBAN makes it possible for international transactions to be processed electronically.

BIC stands for Business Identifier Code and is a bank's global ID.

IBAN (International Bank Account Number)
IBANs used in the EU comprise of up to 27 alphanumeric characters and IBANs used in countries outside the EU up to 34 characters. The IBAN comprises the following components:

• Country key: 2-digit ISO alpha code (such as DE for Germany)
  
• Check digits: 2-digit check digit computed in accordance with ISO 7064 ("x" in the example)
  
• National bank / account ID (e.g. the 8-digit German sort code ("y" in the example) and 10-digit account number ("z" in the example) in some cases with zeros at the front)

A German IBAN is therefore composed as follows:
DExxyyyyyyyyzzzzzzzzzz

The uniform check digit means that all of the parties involved will be in a position to check whether an IBAN is correct.

BIC (Business Identifier Code)/SWIFT code

The BIC comprises of 8 or 11 letters and numbers and is part of the SWIFT code.

SWIFT-Code
SWIFT stands for International Standardised Bank Code and is used to uniquely identify banks and financial institutions globally. SWIFT codes are used globally for cross-border payments and for exchanging information between financial institutions.

The BIC or SWIFT code comprises of 8 or 11 letters and numbers and is composed as follows:

BBBBCCLLbbb

BBBB = 4-digit bank code, letters only, can be selected freely by the financial institute
CC = 2-digit country code according to ISO 3166-1, letters only 
LL = 2-digit code of the place, letters and numbers
bbb = 3-digit identification of the office or department, optional, default: "XXX"

Foreign payment transactions
If you receive payments from abroad, please provide the payer with your Sparkasse's IBAN and BIC (also called SWIFT code) beforehand.

You can find the BIC/SWIFT code under Imprint on your Sparkasse's website and on your bank statements.

When making international transfers (international, SEPA and European transfers), please always provide the recipient's IBAN and BIC (where available).