Albania registered a 28-character IBAN with the BBAN pattern ^[0-9]{8}[A-Z0-9]{16}$: an 8-digit numeric routing prefix followed by a 16-character alphanumeric account number.
Structure
The official registry example is AL47 2121 1009 0000 0002 3569 8741, a SWIFT registry test value, not a real account:
AL47- country code and IBAN check digits212- 3-digit bank code1100- 4-digit branch code9- national check digit over the preceding seven digits0000000235698741- the 16-character account number (alphanumeric permitted, numeric in this example)
A layered routing prefix
The Bank of Albania structures the routing field so that the bank, its branch and a self-check all fit in eight digits. That embedded ninth-position check digit means Albanian IBANs, like Croatian or Hungarian ones, can be validated more deeply than the ISO checksum alone allows: a country-aware validator recomputes the national check digit and rejects numbers no Albanian bank could have issued. The 16-character account portion is defined by each bank; leading zeros are common because many domestic account numbers are shorter than the field.
Payments context outside SEPA
Albania uses the lek (ALL) and does not currently participate in SEPA. In practice this means a transfer from an EU bank to an AL IBAN is a cross-border SWIFT payment: expect correspondent bank fees, longer settlement times and, for lek-denominated accounts, a currency conversion leg. Albanian banks widely offer euro-denominated accounts as well, so asking the beneficiary about the account currency before sending euros avoids an unnecessary double conversion. Western Balkan SEPA accession is an active policy process, so this status is worth rechecking over time.
Formal validity carries the usual limits: an AL IBAN that passes both the national check digit and the MOD-97 checksum is structurally sound, nothing more. It does not confirm the account exists, is open, or belongs to your intended recipient - protections like the EU’s Verification of Payee do not extend to non-SEPA corridors, which makes independent confirmation of Albanian beneficiary details especially important.