We will be answering a question coming from our FB page. A lady is interested in ‘how many digits are there in a typical bank account number?’
And straight to the answer.
In the US the number of digits in a typical bank account number is between 7 and 16 digits. Yes, those numbers depend on the country, the bank, and the type of account you might have with that bank.
The typical account number usually have 10-16 digits. The number is specific to your personal account. If you use a checkbook – the digits will be printed on the bottom of the checks as a second set of numbers, just next to the bank routing number. Another option to find your bank account number is to look at your monthly statements – the number should be printed there.
--
In the UK – the bank accounts are usually made of 6-digit sort code and 8-digit account number. The sort codes' purpose is to identify the bank branch and are usually in the form of 11-11-11. The sort codes usually do not have a check digit. The account numbers have an 8-digit number and contain a specific bank check digit.
All UK bank accounts also have IBANs (International Bank Account Number(s)). IBANs are mandated by the European Union to facilitate international bank transactions. British IBANs have 22 characters mix of digits and letters. IBANs start with ‘GB’, then the 3rd and 4th digits are a pair of modulo-97 check numbers, 5th to 8th positions are reserved for the bank-specific code, positions 9 to 14 consist of the bank sort code characters, and in the end (15th to 22nd) there is the bank account number.
--
In Canada, the basic account info is represented in about 7-digits number. Some banks might use more digits – up to 11. The bank number itself is usually 3 digits, the branch name is about 3 digits, the branch number is 5 digits. And then you have the account number itself (3 digits), branch number (5 digits), and then the bank account number which is about 7 digits.
As usual, you can check those numbers on the bottom of any account checks the bank provided to you. Also, you should be able to check your bank account number digitally, by logging into your bank account online and checking your account information.
The bank account numbers are used by any bank to electronically deposit your payroll or charge your regular payments, etc… If you are trying to transfer funds internationally, there will be some additional numbers to be used to make that possible, to identify your bank on the international payment system.
As a bottom line - banks distinguish between savings, checking, and time deposits by altering the number of digits in any specific account number. As mentioned above, some of the digits will represent the branch of the bank it was opened at, and the others will represent the account holder. the number of digits is important internally to the teller processing the bank account number.