Virgin Islands IBAN
A Virgin Islands IBAN is 24 characters long.
VG and two check digits open every Virgin Islands IBAN; its remaining 20 form the BBAN (Basic Bank Account Number). Transfers into Virgin Islands arrive in USD over SWIFT.
Example Virgin Islands IBAN
Electronic format
VG96VPVG0000012345678901
Print format
VG96 VPVG 0000 0123 4567 8901
IBAN structure for Virgin Islands
Format reference: SWIFT IBAN Registry.
Virgin Islands IBAN questions
Does the British Virgin Islands have its own IBAN format?
Yes. The SWIFT IBAN Registry has carried an entry for the Virgin Islands (British), country code VG, effective since April 2012. Its contact organisation is VP Bank House in Road Town, with a VP Bank managing director as primary contact, rather than a regulator or bankers' association. Ask the recipient's bank whether it quotes an IBAN for incoming wires.
What can I do about a complaint against a BVI bank?
Write to the bank first and ask for a review by a senior officer or manager not involved in the matter, the FSC advises. The FSC supervises banks but cannot arbitrate disputes; if the bank does not address the concern, it acts mainly as an intermediary and checks whether any law, regulation or guideline was breached. Complaints must be in writing.
What does VIDIC deposit insurance leave out?
VIDIC lists savings, checking, time deposit, joint and trustee accounts as covered. Investment securities, mutual funds, insurance policies, annuities, crypto or digital assets and credit products are not insured. Trust accounts, including client accounts held by legal or accounting practices, are protected separately from a depositor's other accounts, and financing and money services businesses are outside the scheme.
British Virgin Islands: US dollars, FSC licences and VIDIC cover
The British Virgin Islands use the US dollar; the territory's statute book carries a Legal Tender (Adoption of United States Currency) Act. The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank's currency union includes two UK overseas territories, Anguilla and Montserrat, but not the BVI. Banks are licensed and supervised by the BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC), an autonomous regulator created by the Financial Services Commission Act of December 2001, which also covers insurance, fiduciary and investment business.
- Under the Banks and Trust Companies Act, 1990, nobody may carry on banking business from within the territory without an FSC licence. There are three kinds: a General Banking Licence, which requires physical presence in the BVI, and Restricted Class I and Restricted Class II licences, each with minimum capital requirements and a fit and proper test.
- Deposits are insured by the Virgin Islands Deposit Insurance Corporation (VIDIC), set up in January 2024 under the Virgin Islands Deposit Insurance Act 2016; every deposit-taking bank licensed under the 1990 Act must be a member. Cover is US$100,000 per depositor per member bank, interest included, and the holders of a joint account share one limit.
- The scheme has already been used. On 28 May 2025 the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed joint provisional liquidators to Bank of Asia (BVI) Limited as VIDIC, with the FSC's cooperation, moved to wind it down. Joint liquidators followed on 22 October 2025, authorised to start paying insured deposits; amounts above the limit go through the liquidation.
Sources: BVI FSC: frequently asked questions on banking; VIDIC: about the corporation; VIDIC: Bank of Asia (BVI) Limited FAQs; Eastern Caribbean Central Bank: about the ECCB.
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