IFLANET home - International Federation of Library Associations and InstitutionsActivities and ServicesSearchContacts

IFLA Voucher Scheme

Payment System for International Interlibrary Transactions

French translation

Arabic translation Arabic   Chinese translation Chinese   Czech translation Czech   English English
Italian Translation Italian   Portuguese translation Portuguese   Russian translation Russian   Spanish translation Spanish
Thai translation Thai  


The IFLA Voucher Scheme makes it easy for you to pay for your international interlibrary requests, by using a voucher instead of money.

How does the Scheme work?

The scheme is based on a re-useable plastic voucher, which represents a standard payment for one transaction.

Libraries purchase a supply of vouchers from IFLA HQ for EUR 8 each (half -value vouchers are also available at EUR 4 each).

The supplying library determines the quantity of vouchers needed for the loan and retains it to be re-used for another transaction at a later date, when it wishes to borrow from another library.

Libraries that supply more items than they request can redeem their excess vouchers by sending them to IFLA HQ. They will receive a refund of EUR 8 per voucher (EUR 4 for half-vouchers). Vouchers that were previously sold by IFLA/OIL for US dollars will be redeemed in Euros.

Vouchers have unlimited validity and can be re-used any number of times. This applies to the old-style vouchers previously issued by the former IFLA Office for International Lending, as well as to the new vouchers.

Supplying libraries are encouraged to accept a standard "payment" of one voucher for supplying a loan or a photocopy of up to 15 pages. But they are also, of course, free to charge more (or less) if they wish to do so.

What are the benefits of the Scheme?

Apart from the initial purchase and final redemption of the vouchers, the Scheme eliminates all financial payments when paying for international borrowing and document supply.

Benefits include:

  • No bank charges for either requesting or supplying library
  • No money lost in international exchange rates
  • No need for invoices, therefore reduced administration costs (but see note below about VAT)
  • The vouchers can be retained for future use
  • Libraries are encouraged to offer an effective ILL service in order to "earn" vouchers which they can use or redeem
  • The scheme was originally launched in January 1995, and there are now many participating libraries and institutions around the world. See the list of IFLA Voucher Scheme Participating Libraries.

Please note that, according to the Dutch tax authorities, there may be VAT implications for libraries using this scheme. You are therefore advised to seek authoritative advice within your own country.

How do we take part?

Please contact Susan Schaepman at IFLA HQ on susan.schaepman@ifla.org or voucher@ifla.org
She will then send you all the information you need to purchase your first supply of vouchers.

How do we purchase the vouchers?

Pro forma invoices are available upon request; alternatively, payment can be sent with order. At this time there is no official order form.

  1. If you require a pro forma invoice to help you arrange payment for IFLA vouchers, please request one from the e-mail or address mentioned above.
  2. Tell us how many full Vouchers and how many half Vouchers you require.
  3. Give us the full address to where the invoice should be sent.
  4. If you would like us to fax the invoice to you, please provide the full fax number.
  5. Please provide your IFLA membership number if applicable.
  6. Please quote your invoice number on all subsequent correspondence, including payments.
  7. After payment has been received we will send your vouchers via normal airmail service.
  8. Please specify your invoice address and your shipping address, if these are different.

Vouchers must be paid for in Euros.
Payment should be made by bank transfer, rather than by cheque.

Account Name: IFLA
Account Number: 129938416
Swift Code: RABONL2U
IBAN: NL23 RABO 0129 9384 16
Bank Name: Rabo Bank
Bank Address: Bezuidenhoutseweg 5; 2594 AB The Hague, Netherlands

If you must pay by cheque please note that your vouchers will not be issued until the cheque has been cleared by our bank. Cheque payment may be sent to the IFLA HQ Address mentioned below.

All payments received in currencies other than the EURO will be converted into the EURO. The value of the vouchers you receive will be based on the converted amount.

If the cheque or wire transfer received is less than the full amount of your order, we reserve the right to issue fewer vouchers to cover the reduced payment.

Pre-payment is required.
Vouchers cost EUR 8 each. A half-voucher costs EUR 4. This can be used as a ' top-up' for larger transactions. The minimum order accepted is EUR 100. Orders for smaller amounts cannot be accepted, but larger orders are welcome.

There is a handling charge for each order of EUR 12, to contribute towards the running costs of the scheme.

There is a non-IFLA member surcharge of 10% on each order. Institutional Members of IFLA and National Association member of IFLA do not pay this surcharge. It would be helpful to include your IFLA membership code when ordering vouchers.

How do we redeem the vouchers?

If you are a library that lends more than it borrows, you will probably receive more vouchers than you can re-use. You can send in your excess vouchers for a refund equal to the total purchase price of the vouchers, less a handling fee of EUR 12. All refunds are paid by bank transfer in Euros.

When sending your redemption to the IFLA HQ please include the following information:

  • Bank account Name
  • Bank account Number
  • Bank name
  • Bank address
  • Bank swift code
  • Bank IBAN code

Further information

Further information is available from IFLA HQ at voucher@ifla.org or
IFLA Voucher Scheme
IFLA HQ
P O Box 95312
2509 CH The Hague
Netherlands

Tel: +31 70 3140884
Tel: +31 70 3834827