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Greece IBAN Check Digits: Calculation & Verification

The check digits of a Greece IBAN are the two digits at positions 3 and 4 (after the country code). In the example GR1601101250000000012300695, they are 16. They detect keying errors using the MOD 97 algorithm.

What Are IBAN Check Digits?

Check digits (positions 3–4 of the IBAN) validate the integrity of the account number. They are computed per ISO 13616 using the modulo 97-10 algorithm. Any single-character error or adjacent-character transposition will be detected.

GR
CC
16
Check
01101250000000012300695
BBAN

MOD 97 Algorithm: Steps

  1. 1Move the first 4 characters (country code + check digits) to the end of the IBAN.
  2. 2Replace each letter with its numeric value (A=10, B=11, … Z=35).
  3. 3Compute the remainder of dividing this large number by 97.
  4. 4The result must equal 1 for a valid IBAN.

Step-by-Step Example

Example IBAN:GR1601101250000000012300695
Step 1 — Rearrange
Moving "GR16" to the end:
01101250000000012300695GR16
Step 2 — Letter substitution
Replacing letters (country code and alphabetic BBAN chars):
01101250000000012300695162716
G=16R=27
Step 3 — Modulo 97
Computing the modulo:
01101250000000012300 mod 97 = 1
Result
✓ Valid IBAN (remainder = 1)

Errors Detected by MOD 97

Detected
  • Any single digit/letter error
  • Transposition of two adjacent characters
Not detected (generally)
  • ~Some twin errors

Why It Matters

The MOD 97 algorithm detects ~99.96% of simple typing errors. For a 27-character Greece IBAN, the probability of incorrectly accepting an invalid IBAN is 1/97 ≈ 1%.

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