IBAN · SV

IBAN format in El Salvador: structure, length and example

An IBAN in El Salvador is 28 characters long and always starts with SV. Payment routing, charges and any currency conversion depend on the sending and receiving banks. Confirm the route and the charges before you send. The details below come from the official IBAN registry maintained by SWIFT as registration authority for ISO 13616.

IBANs run from 15 to 33 characters worldwide, so at 28 this one sits above the average of 24. 11 other countries use the same length, which is why the two opening letters matter — they are what tells the sending bank where the money is going. There is no separate branch identifier: the number points at the bank and the account, not at a particular office. The format has been in force since December 2016.

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El Salvador IBAN at a glance

Account number format at a glance
FieldValue
IBAN country codeSV
IBAN length28 characters
Domestic account number length24 characters
IBAN structureSV2!n4!a20!n
SEPA memberNo
Example (electronic)SV62CENR00000000000000700025
Example (printed)SV 62 CENR 00000000000000700025

How an IBAN in El Salvador breaks down

Taking the registry's own example, SV 62 CENR 00000000000000700025:

The example account number broken into parts
PartValueWhat it is
Country codeSVAlways SV for El Salvador
Check digits62Calculated from the rest of the number (ISO 7064 mod-97)
Bank identifierCENRPositions 1–4 of the domestic account number
Account number00000000000000700025Identifies the account at that bank

Letters in the structure notation mean: n digits, a uppercase letters, c letters or digits; ! means the length is fixed.

How to send money to an account in El Salvador

  1. Ask for the IBAN in full — including the country code at the front. Spaces do not matter; banks strip them.
  2. Check the name matches the account. The check digits catch typing mistakes, not wrong recipients.
  3. Send — and keep the reference number until the recipient confirms arrival.

Common questions

How many characters is an IBAN in El Salvador?

28 characters, starting with the country code SV. Written on paper it is normally grouped in blocks of four, like SV 62 CENR 00000000000000700025.

What does a El Salvador IBAN look like?

SV 62 CENR 00000000000000700025 is the format example published in the official IBAN registry. The first two letters are the country code, the next two are check digits, and the rest identifies the bank and the account.

Do I need a BIC as well as the IBAN for El Salvador?

It depends on the route and on the sending bank. Ask whether a BIC/SWIFT code is needed alongside the IBAN before you send.

Can I check an IBAN before sending money?

The check digits let any bank detect a mistyped IBAN, but they cannot tell you whether the account belongs to the person you think. Confirm the name and the number with the recipient.

Where this data comes from

Structure, length and examples come from the official IBAN Registry published by SWIFT as registration authority for ISO 13616, snapshot of 2026-08-21. Worked examples are derived from the registry's own sample values. Whether a country is inside SEPA is taken from the European Payments Council list of countries in the SEPA schemes, not from the registry: the registry records the position at its own release date and lags behind admissions. Corrections: [email protected].

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