Nicaragua registered its IBAN with SWIFT in 2023, becoming one of the first Central American countries in the registry. The current format is 28 characters with the BBAN pattern ^[A-Z]{4}[0-9]{20}$: a 4-letter bank code and a 20-digit account number.
Structure
- Positions 1-2: country code
NI - Positions 3-4: IBAN check digits (ISO 7064 MOD-97-10)
- Positions 5-8: 4-letter bank identifier, aligned with the bank’s BIC
- Positions 9-28: 20-digit account number, left-padded with zeros where the domestic number is shorter
Rather than risk quoting an outdated sample, we do not print a literal registry example here; use the generator on this page to produce a structurally valid test IBAN for development purposes.
A format with a history lesson
Nicaragua’s IBAN is a cautionary tale for validator authors: an earlier 32-character draft of the format circulated before the official registration settled on 28 characters. Documentation, libraries and cached web pages that predate the change still describe the longer version, and an IBAN built to the old draft will fail against the current specification. This is a concrete reminder that IBAN specifications are living registry entries, not permanent constants, and validation libraries need updating when the registry changes.
Payments to Nicaragua
Nicaragua uses the córdoba (NIO), and its banks also hold widely used US dollar accounts, reflecting the dollarised character of much of the economy. Nicaragua is not part of SEPA, so European transfers travel over SWIFT, generally via US correspondents, and the beneficiary bank’s BIC is required alongside the IBAN. The 20-digit account field carries no national check digit; the MOD-97 checksum is the only arithmetic safeguard in the format.
Validity, as always, is structural. A well-formed NI IBAN does not demonstrate that the account exists, is open, or belongs to your intended payee, and no Verification of Payee style name matching protects this corridor. Confirm Nicaraguan beneficiary details independently, ideally including the account currency, before instructing a transfer.