Honduras IBAN Format (HN) — Structure, Length & Example

The Honduras IBAN is 28 characters long and follows the ISO 13616 standard administered by the Banco Central de Honduras (BCH). Honduras adopted the IBAN format to simplify cross-border payments, particularly for remittances from the large Honduran diaspora in the United States and Spain. Honduras is not a SEPA country; all international transfers use the SWIFT network and require both the IBAN and the receiving bank's BIC code.

Honduras IBAN at a Glance

• Country code: HN
• Total length: 28 characters (always)
• Format: HNkk bbbb cccccccccccccccccccc
• BBAN length: 24 characters
• Character types: 4-letter alphabetic bank code + 20-digit numeric account number
• Currency: Honduran Lempira (HNL)

Honduras IBAN Structure Explained

1. Country Code, HN (2 characters)

The ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 code for Honduras. Every Honduran IBAN begins with HN.

2. Check Digits, kk (2 digits)

Two decimal digits computed using the MOD-97 algorithm defined in ISO 7064. They provide automatic detection of transposition errors and single-digit mistakes before the payment is routed.

3. Bank Code, bbbb (4 letters)

A 4-letter alphabetic code identifying the receiving bank. This code is derived from the first four characters of the bank's BIC/SWIFT code. Common bank codes for Honduran institutions:

• PISA, Banco del País
• BAHN, Banco Atlántida
• BFHN, Banco Ficohsa
• BICE, Banco de Occidente
• HDHN, HSBC Honduras

4. Account Number, cccccccccccccccccccc (20 digits)

A 20-digit numeric account number. This is one of the longer account fields in Latin American IBAN formats. Account numbers shorter than 20 digits are left-padded with zeros to reach the required length.

Honduras IBAN Example Explained

HN54 PISA 0000 0000 0000 0012 3124

• Country code: HN
• Check digits: 54
• Bank code: PISA (Banco del País)
• Account number: 00000000000000123124

Note that the bank code field always contains uppercase letters and must not be converted to digits. Systems that expect a numeric bank code will incorrectly reject valid Honduran IBANs.

How Honduran IBAN Validation Works

1. Country code check: First two characters must be exactly HN.
2. Length check: Total character count with spaces removed must be exactly 28.
3. Character type check: Positions 5–8 must be uppercase letters (bank code); positions 9–28 must be digits (account number).
4. MOD-97 check: Move the first four characters (HN + check digits) to the end, replace each letter with its numeric value (A=10, B=11, ... Z=35), then divide by 97. The remainder must equal 1.

The ibanchecker.cash validator performs all steps automatically and returns the bank code and account breakdown for valid Honduran IBANs.

Honduras Is Not a SEPA Country

Honduras is not a member of the Single Euro Payments Area. All international transfers to Honduran accounts travel via the SWIFT correspondent banking network. Key implications:

• Processing times of 2–5 business days depending on correspondent routing
• Correspondent bank fees applied by intermediate institutions in the transfer chain
• The BIC/SWIFT code of the Honduran receiving bank must be provided alongside the IBAN
• Currency is the Honduran lempira (HNL); most international transfers convert to or from USD on this corridor

Look up any Honduran bank's BIC using the ibanchecker.cash SWIFT directory.

Remittances and the Honduran Banking System

Remittances represent one of the most important sources of foreign income for Honduras, consistently accounting for more than 20% of GDP in recent years. The Honduran diaspora, the largest in Central America relative to the country's population, sends billions of dollars annually, primarily from the United States. This high volume of inbound payments has driven Honduran banks to improve their IBAN compatibility and international payment processing capabilities. The adoption of IBAN simplifies payment instructions for overseas senders who are accustomed to using IBANs for European payments.

Finance teams making payments to multiple Central American suppliers can validate Honduran IBANs alongside IBANs from other Latin American countries using the ibanchecker.cash bulk checker.

Common Honduras IBAN Mistakes

Treating the Bank Code as Numeric

The 4-character bank code in a Honduran IBAN is always alphabetic letters, not digits. This differs from many European IBANs where bank codes are numeric. Systems configured to expect only digits in the BBAN will reject valid Honduran IBANs unless updated to handle alphanumeric characters.

Wrong Length

Honduran IBANs are exactly 28 characters. This matches the Dominican Republic and several Caribbean IBAN formats, but the BBAN structure is different. A 28-character IBAN starting with HN is always Honduran; confirm the country code if there is any ambiguity.

Incomplete Account Number

Honduran banks may provide account numbers shorter than 20 digits to customers. When constructing an IBAN, the account number field must be zero-padded on the left to fill all 20 digit positions. Missing zeros at the start of the account field cause MOD-97 check digit failure.

Sources & References

• SWIFT IBAN Registry — Official country IBAN format specifications
• ISO 13616 — International standard for IBAN
• Banco Central de Honduras — Payment system regulations and financial oversight

Last updated: June 2026