Variable symbol ({{langx, cs, Variabilní symbol) is an identifier widely used for domestic payments in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

and

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. Its maximum length is 10 characters and consists only of digits.

History

Putting a variable symbol in the payment order was modified by Decree CNB 62/2004 Coll. (Repealed Decree of the

Czech National Bank The Czech National Bank, (, ČNB) is the central bank and financial market supervisor in the Czech Republic, headquartered in Prague. It is a member of the European System of Central Banks. It was established on from the division of the State ...

No. 169/2011 Coll. without compensation, despite the repealed ordinance is still in practice).

Standards

From an accounting point of view there are no limits for its use in business. A few '' de facto'' standards govern its use: * Variable symbols are usually used to indicate invoice numbers (after omitting any nonnumerical characters). * The

National identification number A national identification number or national identity number is used by the governments of many countries as a means of uniquely identifying their citizens or residents for the purposes of work, taxation, government benefits, health care, bank ...

is used to identify individuals, without a separating slash (especially for payments to local authorities, housing associations, etc.). * For identification of legal entities, IČO is used (for payments to the tax office, etc.). Usage of variable symbol is widespread and is often required by companies as well as by local, tax and other authorities. For international payments, the

and Czech Banking Association recommend that the variable symbol appear in the text for the receiver in the format: /VS/nnnnnnnnnn where n is a digit in the variable symbol.

References

Entering of Variable, Constant and Specific Codes for Payments from Abroad to the Czech Republic
- joint recommendation of the CNB and the Czech Banking Association
ČSOB page about cashless payments
Identifiers