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The short answer
Not lawfully, if the employer pays salaries by SEPA credit transfer. Article 9 of EU Regulation 260/2012 says a payer making euro credit transfers may not discriminate against an account because of the EU country where it is located, so a valid SEPA IBAN beginning LT, DE, IE or any other SEPA code should be accepted. In practice refusals still happen in Italy, and consumer groups have been sending documented cases to the Banca d'Italia and the competition authority (AGCM).
You start a new job in Milan or Turin, give HR the euro IBAN you opened before you arrived, and are told it has to be an Italian one, beginning IT. Many Nigerians in Italy hear this, often in the first weeks when an Italian bank account is the hardest thing to get. Here is what the law says, how to push back politely, and where to take it if the employer will not move.
What the SEPA rule says
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) lets euro transfers move between participating countries on the same terms as domestic ones. To make that work, Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 260/2012 deals with what is called IBAN discrimination. As summarised in Teleborsa's report of 15 September 2026, anyone who accepts credit transfers or collects money by direct debit within SEPA "non può discriminare", may not discriminate, against an account on the basis of the country where it is located.
An employer paying your salary is a payer sending a credit transfer, so the same logic applies: if it can send SEPA transfers to an IT account, it is expected to be able to send them to a valid SEPA account elsewhere. The rule concerns the country of the account. It does not oblige an employer to pay into an account that is not in your name, to pay in cash, or to use a non-euro account.
- IBAN discrimination
- Refusing or treating differently a valid SEPA account because of the country code at the start of the IBAN.
- SEPA credit transfer
- A euro transfer sent under SEPA rules; payroll in Italy normally goes this way.
- Payee and payer
- Article 9 covers both sides: the person collecting money and the person sending it.
Why Italian employers still refuse
The rule has been in force for years, yet refusals continue. Altroconsumo, the Italian consumer association, says on its campaign page that a valid SEPA IBAN "should be accepted everywhere, but even today this is not the case". The September 2026 Teleborsa report lists problems at private companies, banks, universities and public bodies, including the crediting of salaries and pensions, utility and telecom direct debits, motorway tolls, insurance and F24 tax payments. It says the IBANs most often refused were Luxembourg ones, followed by Lithuanian accounts and Italian IBANs issued by foreign operators.
The reasons you hear are usually practical rather than legal:
- Payroll software that only validates IT IBANs, or a payroll provider's form with a fixed field.
- Policy written before the rule, which nobody in HR has revisited.
- Worry about checks: some HR teams believe a foreign account makes tax or social security records harder. It does not change how your salary is taxed in Italy.
- Confusion with name checks: an employer may fairly ask for proof that the account is in your name. That is a different question from where the account is held.
Steps: how to raise it with your employer
- Ask for the refusal in writing, by email, with the reason given.
- Reply politely, quoting Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 260/2012, and offer proof that the account is in your name (an account confirmation letter from your provider showing your name and IBAN).
- Ask whether the block is in the payroll software. If so, ask HR to raise it with the payroll provider, since the fix is usually a validation setting.
- If you need the salary urgently, agree a temporary arrangement in writing, for example paying the first month to your own IT account once it opens, while the issue is resolved. Do not use a friend's account.
- Keep copies of every message. If you later complain to an authority, a dated paper trail matters more than anything else.
Where to report IBAN discrimination in Italy
Teleborsa reports that the cases collected by Altroconsumo were sent to the Banca d'Italia and to the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM, the Antitrust authority), and that representatives of both attended the September 2026 meeting in Parliament. The article does not say which body formally handles individual complaints, and we could not confirm that on an official page. In practice you can:
- Send your evidence to the Banca d'Italia, which supervises payment rules in Italy, and ask which office handles Article 9 cases.
- Report the employer's practice to the AGCM if it is a company refusing consumers' accounts as a policy.
- Add your case to Altroconsumo's campaign, which gathers examples to press for enforcement.
- Tell your own payment provider: some EU providers collect refusals and raise them with the authorities in their home country.
Expect this to take time. It is worth doing, but it rarely fixes next month's salary, which is why the temporary arrangement above matters.
Should you just open an Italian account?
Often the quickest answer is to have both. An IT account helps with rent direct debits, utilities and anything that stubbornly asks for an Italian IBAN, while your other euro account can still receive transfers and hold savings. If cost or documents are the obstacle, the basic account Italian banks must offer is covered in our guide to the conto di base, and the wider process in opening a bank account in Italy as a Nigerian. The practical side of being paid into a non-Italian IBAN is in our salary IBAN guide.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme account can be opened from any country and holds EUR with its own account details alongside NGN, USD and GBP, so euro money can sit next to your naira at home. Outside Nigeria, Pryme's activities are carried out through regulated partners. If an employer asks for proof the account is yours, you can generate a verifiable statement through VerifyDoc.ai (receipts and statements). See the multicurrency account.
Questions people ask
Is it illegal in Italy to refuse a foreign IBAN for salary?
Article 9 of EU Regulation 260/2012 bars discriminating against a SEPA account because of the country where it is held. An employer paying by SEPA transfer should accept any valid SEPA IBAN in your name.
Can my employer insist the account is in my name?
Yes. Asking for proof that you hold the account is reasonable and separate from the country-code question.
Who do I complain to about IBAN discrimination in Italy?
Consumer cases have been sent to the Banca d'Italia and the AGCM. Ask the Banca d'Italia which office handles Article 9 complaints, and keep your evidence.
Does a Lithuanian or Irish IBAN change how my salary is taxed in Italy?
No. Where your salary lands does not change your Italian payroll tax; the employer still withholds as normal.
Sources
- Teleborsa: Discriminazione dell'Iban, Altroconsumo e Satispay sostengono un'azione coordinata (15 Sep 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- Altroconsumo: Stop alla discriminazione dell'Iban (petition page) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.