Costa Rica IBAN
A Costa Rica IBAN is 22 characters long.
CR and two check digits open every Costa Rica IBAN; its remaining 18 form the BBAN (Basic Bank Account Number). Transfers into Costa Rica arrive in CRC over SWIFT.
Example Costa Rica IBAN
Electronic format
CR05015202001026284066
Print format
CR05 0152 0200 1026 2840 66
IBAN structure for Costa Rica
Major banks in Costa Rica
1 banks in Costa Rica that support IBAN-based international transfers:
Format reference: SWIFT IBAN Registry.
Costa Rica IBAN questions
Is there a regional route into a Costa Rican IBAN from Central America?
Yes, in US dollars only. The BCCR's Pagos al Exterior service links Central America and the Dominican Republic and needs the IBAN. Orders run from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm local time, and the receiving institution must credit the full amount within two hours, the BCCR says.
Does SINPE Móvil accept dollars?
No. The BCCR lets a phone number be registered for SINPE Móvil only against a colón account. Money meant to stay in dollars has to go to a dollar account by its IBAN.
A caller offers to help me find my Costa Rican IBAN. Is that genuine?
No. The BCCR warns that no bank employee will contact you to supply your IBAN or guide you to it, and that such a call or email is very likely a scam.
SINPE in Costa Rica: one IBAN for local and foreign payments
Costa Rica uses the IBAN as its everyday account number, not only for money from abroad. The Banco Central de Costa Rica (BCCR) presents it as the country's only account format, and SINPE, the payment platform the BCCR has managed since 17 April 1997, moves money between IBAN accounts.
- A real-time domestic SINPE transfer (Pagos Inmediatos) needs the payee's cédula, the national ID number, as well as the IBAN, the BCCR says; one that cannot be processed goes back to the payer, also in real time.
- Simplified accounts for low-risk customers without a bank account (Cuenta de Expediente Simplificado) are limited to one per person and currency, with deposits capped at one million colones a month or the equivalent in foreign currency.
- BAC Credomatic says it retired its older cuenta cliente numbers and moved every transaction to the IBAN on 1 August 2019.
Sources: BCCR: the payment system and SINPE; BCCR: IBAN account standard; BCCR: SINPE services for individuals; BCCR: Pagos al Exterior; BAC Credomatic: what IBAN accounts are (2023).
Kosovo
Turkey
Ukraine
Qatar
Egypt
Israel