The European Committee for Banking Standards was the European banking industry’s body for technical standards in payments and related bank operations. Banks used its specifications so that an account number, a card, or a payment file meant the same thing from one country to the next. The committee’s work has since been absorbed into later European payments bodies.
One identifier that came through that work is the International Bank Account Number (IBAN). The committee published banking specifications. The account number is one of those specifications, now used well beyond the original committee.
What the Specifications Covered
- Account numbers. A common structure so a cross-border payment could be addressed.
- Cards and files. Layouts that more than one country’s banks could process.
- Not a law. A bank adopted the specification. A legislature did not enact it.
Industry Committee and a Later Official Scheme
| Compared | The Committee | A Later Official Scheme |
| Who wrote it | Banks, as an industry body | A European payments institution |
| Force | Voluntary adoption | Scheme rules for participants |
| An account number | Specified the format | Still uses that format |