IBAN format · KW

Kuwait IBAN format: 30 characters.

Kuwait IBANs have 30 characters: the country code KW, two check digits and a 26-character BBAN, the national account number, laid out as 4!a22!c.

Kuwait IBAN structure

KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101

Country code: KW
Check digits: 81
Bank code: CBKU
Account: 0000000000001234560101

Parts of a Kuwait IBAN and their positions
Positions	Part	In the example
1–2	Country code	KW
3–4	Check digits	81
5–8	Bank code	CBKU
9–30	Account	0000000000001234560101

The BBAN, segment by segment

The registry writes the BBAN in SWIFT notation: n is a digit, a an upper-case letter, c a letter or digit, and the ! means a fixed length. 4!a22!c reads:

The Kuwait BBAN format, segment by segment
Positions	Notation	Holds	Example
5–8	4!a	4 upper-case lettersBank code	CBKU
9–30	22!c	22 letters or digits	0000000000001234560101

Kuwait IBAN example

KW81 CBKU 0000 0000 0000 1234 5601 01 is the sample the SWIFT IBAN Registry publishes for Kuwait: a well-formed IBAN for showing the format, not a real account. Written electronically it has no spaces (KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101); on paper it is printed in groups of four.

Its check digits, worked through with ISO 7064 mod 97-10:

Move the country code and check digits to the end
CBKU0000000000001234560101KW81
Replace each letter with two digits (A = 10 … Z = 35)
C = 12, B = 11, K = 20, U = 30, W = 32
121120300000000000001234560101203281
Divide that number by 97 and keep the remainder
Remainder 1. A valid IBAN always leaves 1, so the check digits are right.
Where the check digits come from
Put 00 in their place (KW00…), repeat steps 1–3: remainder 17. The check digits are 98 − 17 = 81.

SEPA

Kuwait is not in the Single Euro Payments Area, so SEPA credit transfers and direct debits don’t reach KW IBANs.

What the format can and can’t tell you

Valid means the structure and check digits are right — not that the account exists or can receive payments.
National check digits inside the BBAN (e.g. the French RIB key, or the Spanish, Belgian and Italian CIN digits) are not verified.
Bank and branch codes are read from their positions; they are not looked up in a bank directory.

Check KW IBANs from code or an AI agent

REST · GET · no key

curl -s 'https://payopskit.com/api/v1/iban/KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101'

MCP · tools/call · validate_iban

{
  "jsonrpc": "2.0",
  "id": 1,
  "method": "tools/call",
  "params": {
    "name": "validate_iban",
    "arguments": {
      "iban": "KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101"
    }
  }
}

Response (JSON)

{
  "input": "KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101",
  "iban": "KW81CBKU0000000000001234560101",
  "print": "KW81 CBKU 0000 0000 0000 1234 5601 01",
  "valid": true,
  "country": {
    "code": "KW",
    "name": "Kuwait",
    "sepa": false,
    "sepaNote": null
  },
  "checkDigits": "81",
  "expectedCheckDigits": "81",
  "length": {
    "actual": 30,
    "expected": 30
  },
  "bban": "CBKU0000000000001234560101",
  "bbanFormat": "4!a22!c",
  "bankCode": "CBKU",
  "branchCode": null,
  "parts": [
    {
      "label": "Country code",
      "value": "KW",
      "start": 0,
      "end": 2,
      "kind": "country"
    },
    {
      "label": "Check digits",
      "value": "81",
      "start": 2,
      "end": 4,
      "kind": "check"
    },
    {
      "label": "Bank code",
      "value": "CBKU",
      "start": 4,
      "end": 8,
      "kind": "bank"
    },
    {
      "label": "Account",
      "value": "0000000000001234560101",
      "start": 8,
      "end": 30,
      "kind": "account"
    }
  ],
  "checks": {
    "characters": true,
    "country": true,
    "length": true,
    "bbanFormat": true,
    "checksum": true
  },
  "errors": [],
  "notes": [
    "Valid means the structure and check digits are right — not that the account exists or can receive payments.",
    "National check digits inside the BBAN (e.g. the French RIB key, or the Spanish, Belgian and Italian CIN digits) are not verified."
  ]
}

The MCP server is at /mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key); the API and MCP docs show how to connect Claude, Cursor or VS Code.

From a national account number: GET /api/v1/iban/check-digits?country=KW&bban=… or the MCP tool compute_iban_check_digits computes the check digits and the whole IBAN.

Other 30-character IBANs

The same length doesn’t mean the same structure: compare the BBAN formats. All IBAN formats and lengths

Source: the SWIFT IBAN Registry (ISO 13616), transcribed and checked against each country’s registry example; the positions of bank and branch codes are given only where the registry’s are well established. The SWIFT IBAN Registry is the authority. Informational only.