diff --git a/src/include/taler_json_lib.h b/src/include/taler_json_lib.h
index 262e612cc..f0ae923f4 100644
--- a/src/include/taler_json_lib.h
+++ b/src/include/taler_json_lib.h
@@ -23,6 +23,14 @@
 
 #include <jansson.h>
 
+/**
+ * Print JSON parsing related error information
+ */
+#define TALER_JSON_warn(error)                                         \
+  GNUNET_log (GNUNET_ERROR_TYPE_WARNING,                                \
+              "JSON parsing failed at %s:%u: %s (%s)\n",                  \
+              __FILE__, __LINE__, error.text, error.source)
+
 
 /**
  * Convert a TALER amount to a JSON object.
@@ -103,6 +111,16 @@ TALER_JSON_to_data (json_t *json,
                     void *out,
                     size_t out_size);
 
+/**
+ * Check if the given wire format JSON object is correctly formatted
+ *
+ * @param type the type of the wire format
+ * @param wire the JSON wire format object
+ * @return 1 if correctly formatted; 0 if not
+ */
+int
+TALER_JSON_validate_wireformat (const char *type, json_t *wire);
+
 
 #endif /* TALER_JSON_LIB_H_ */
 
diff --git a/src/util/Makefile.am b/src/util/Makefile.am
index a7f9fe3f7..a15d42ad8 100644
--- a/src/util/Makefile.am
+++ b/src/util/Makefile.am
@@ -19,3 +19,15 @@ libtalerutil_la_LIBADD = \
 libtalerutil_la_LDFLAGS = \
   -version-info 0:0:0 \
   -export-dynamic -no-undefined
+
+TESTS=\
+ test-json-validations
+
+check_PROGRAMS=\
+ test-json-validations
+
+test_json_validations_SOURCES=test_json_validations.c
+test_json_validations_LDADD=\
+  -lgnunetutil \
+  -ljansson \
+  libtalerutil.la
diff --git a/src/util/json.c b/src/util/json.c
index 55717c5e0..02591d7bf 100644
--- a/src/util/json.c
+++ b/src/util/json.c
@@ -31,20 +31,12 @@
     if (cond) { GNUNET_break (0); goto EXITIF_exit; }             \
   } while (0)
 
-/**
- * Print JSON parsing related error information
- */
-#define WARN_JSON(error)                                                \
-    GNUNET_log (GNUNET_ERROR_TYPE_WARNING,                              \
-                "JSON parsing failed at %s:%u: %s (%s)",                \
-                __FILE__, __LINE__, error.text, error.source)
-
 /**
  * Shorthand for JSON parsing related exit jumps.
  */
-#define UNPACK_EXITIF(cond)                                              \
+#define UNPACK_EXITIF(cond)                                             \
   do {                                                                  \
-    if (cond) { WARN_JSON(error); goto EXITIF_exit; }                   \
+    if (cond) { TALER_JSON_warn (error); goto EXITIF_exit; }            \
   } while (0)
 
 
@@ -221,4 +213,286 @@ TALER_JSON_to_data (json_t *json,
   return GNUNET_SYSERR;
 }
 
+/* Taken from GNU gettext */
+struct table_entry
+{
+  const char *code;
+  const char *english;
+};
+/* Keep the following table in sync with gettext.
+   WARNING: the entries should stay sorted according to the code */
+static const struct table_entry country_table[] =
+  {
+    { "AE", "U.A.E." },
+    { "AF", "Afghanistan" },
+    { "AL", "Albania" },
+    { "AM", "Armenia" },
+    { "AN", "Netherlands Antilles" },
+    { "AR", "Argentina" },
+    { "AT", "Austria" },
+    { "AU", "Australia" },
+    { "AZ", "Azerbaijan" },
+    { "BA", "Bosnia and Herzegovina" },
+    { "BD", "Bangladesh" },
+    { "BE", "Belgium" },
+    { "BG", "Bulgaria" },
+    { "BH", "Bahrain" },
+    { "BN", "Brunei Darussalam" },
+    { "BO", "Bolivia" },
+    { "BR", "Brazil" },
+    { "BT", "Bhutan" },
+    { "BY", "Belarus" },
+    { "BZ", "Belize" },
+    { "CA", "Canada" },
+    { "CG", "Congo" },
+    { "CH", "Switzerland" },
+    { "CI", "Cote d'Ivoire" },
+    { "CL", "Chile" },
+    { "CM", "Cameroon" },
+    { "CN", "People's Republic of China" },
+    { "CO", "Colombia" },
+    { "CR", "Costa Rica" },
+    { "CS", "Serbia and Montenegro" },
+    { "CZ", "Czech Republic" },
+    { "DE", "Germany" },
+    { "DK", "Denmark" },
+    { "DO", "Dominican Republic" },
+    { "DZ", "Algeria" },
+    { "EC", "Ecuador" },
+    { "EE", "Estonia" },
+    { "EG", "Egypt" },
+    { "ER", "Eritrea" },
+    { "ES", "Spain" },
+    { "ET", "Ethiopia" },
+    { "FI", "Finland" },
+    { "FO", "Faroe Islands" },
+    { "FR", "France" },
+    { "GB", "United Kingdom" },
+    { "GD", "Caribbean" },
+    { "GE", "Georgia" },
+    { "GL", "Greenland" },
+    { "GR", "Greece" },
+    { "GT", "Guatemala" },
+    { "HK", "Hong Kong" },
+    { "HK", "Hong Kong S.A.R." },
+    { "HN", "Honduras" },
+    { "HR", "Croatia" },
+    { "HT", "Haiti" },
+    { "HU", "Hungary" },
+    { "ID", "Indonesia" },
+    { "IE", "Ireland" },
+    { "IL", "Israel" },
+    { "IN", "India" },
+    { "IQ", "Iraq" },
+    { "IR", "Iran" },
+    { "IS", "Iceland" },
+    { "IT", "Italy" },
+    { "JM", "Jamaica" },
+    { "JO", "Jordan" },
+    { "JP", "Japan" },
+    { "KE", "Kenya" },
+    { "KG", "Kyrgyzstan" },
+    { "KH", "Cambodia" },
+    { "KR", "South Korea" },
+    { "KW", "Kuwait" },
+    { "KZ", "Kazakhstan" },
+    { "LA", "Laos" },
+    { "LB", "Lebanon" },
+    { "LI", "Liechtenstein" },
+    { "LK", "Sri Lanka" },
+    { "LT", "Lithuania" },
+    { "LU", "Luxembourg" },
+    { "LV", "Latvia" },
+    { "LY", "Libya" },
+    { "MA", "Morocco" },
+    { "MC", "Principality of Monaco" },
+    { "MD", "Moldava" },
+    { "MD", "Moldova" },
+    { "ME", "Montenegro" },
+    { "MK", "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" },
+    { "ML", "Mali" },
+    { "MM", "Myanmar" },
+    { "MN", "Mongolia" },
+    { "MO", "Macau S.A.R." },
+    { "MT", "Malta" },
+    { "MV", "Maldives" },
+    { "MX", "Mexico" },
+    { "MY", "Malaysia" },
+    { "NG", "Nigeria" },
+    { "NI", "Nicaragua" },
+    { "NL", "Netherlands" },
+    { "NO", "Norway" },
+    { "NP", "Nepal" },
+    { "NZ", "New Zealand" },
+    { "OM", "Oman" },
+    { "PA", "Panama" },
+    { "PE", "Peru" },
+    { "PH", "Philippines" },
+    { "PK", "Islamic Republic of Pakistan" },
+    { "PL", "Poland" },
+    { "PR", "Puerto Rico" },
+    { "PT", "Portugal" },
+    { "PY", "Paraguay" },
+    { "QA", "Qatar" },
+    { "RE", "Reunion" },
+    { "RO", "Romania" },
+    { "RS", "Serbia" },
+    { "RU", "Russia" },
+    { "RW", "Rwanda" },
+    { "SA", "Saudi Arabia" },
+    { "SE", "Sweden" },
+    { "SG", "Singapore" },
+    { "SI", "Slovenia" },
+    { "SK", "Slovak" },
+    { "SN", "Senegal" },
+    { "SO", "Somalia" },
+    { "SR", "Suriname" },
+    { "SV", "El Salvador" },
+    { "SY", "Syria" },
+    { "TH", "Thailand" },
+    { "TJ", "Tajikistan" },
+    { "TM", "Turkmenistan" },
+    { "TN", "Tunisia" },
+    { "TR", "Turkey" },
+    { "TT", "Trinidad and Tobago" },
+    { "TW", "Taiwan" },
+    { "TZ", "Tanzania" },
+    { "UA", "Ukraine" },
+    { "US", "United States" },
+    { "UY", "Uruguay" },
+    { "VA", "Vatican" },
+    { "VE", "Venezuela" },
+    { "VN", "Viet Nam" },
+    { "YE", "Yemen" },
+    { "ZA", "South Africa" },
+    { "ZW", "Zimbabwe" }
+  };
+
+static int
+cmp_country_code (const void *ptr1, const void *ptr2)
+{
+  const struct table_entry *cc1 = ptr1;
+  const struct table_entry *cc2 = ptr2;
+
+  return strncmp (cc1->code, cc2->code, 2);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Validates given IBAN according to the European Banking Standards.  See:
+ * http://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/documents/ECBS%20IBAN%20standard%20EBS204_V3.2.pdf
+ *
+ * @param iban the IBAN number to validate
+ * @return 1 is validated successfully; 0 if not.
+ */
+static int
+validate_iban (const char *iban)
+{
+  char cc[2];
+  char ibancpy[35];
+  struct table_entry cc_entry;
+  unsigned int len;
+  char *nbuf;
+  int i,j;
+
+  len = strlen(iban);
+  if (len > 34)
+    return 0;
+  (void) strncpy (cc, iban, 2);
+  (void) strncpy (ibancpy, iban+4, len - 4);
+  (void) strncpy (ibancpy + len - 4, iban, 4);
+  ibancpy[len] = '\0';
+  cc_entry.code = cc;
+  cc_entry.english = NULL;
+  if (NULL ==
+      bsearch (&cc_entry, country_table,
+               sizeof(country_table)/sizeof(struct table_entry),
+               sizeof (struct table_entry),
+               &cmp_country_code))
+    return 0;
+  nbuf = GNUNET_malloc((len * 2) + 1);
+  for (i=0, j=0; i < len; i++)
+  {
+    if(isalpha(ibancpy[i]))
+    {
+      EXITIF(2 != snprintf(&nbuf[j], 3, "%2u", (ibancpy[i] - 'A' + 10)));
+      j+=2;
+      continue;
+    }
+    nbuf[j] = ibancpy[i];
+    j++;
+  }
+  for (j=0; ;j++)
+  {
+    if ('\0' == nbuf[j])
+      break;
+    GNUNET_assert (isdigit(nbuf[j]));
+  }
+  unsigned long long dividend;
+  unsigned long long remainder = 0;
+  int nread;
+  int ret;
+  GNUNET_assert (sizeof(dividend) >= 8);
+  for (i=0; i<j; i+=16)
+  {
+    EXITIF (1 != (ret = sscanf(&nbuf[i], "%16llu %n", &dividend, &nread)));
+    if (0 != remainder)
+      dividend += remainder * (pow (10, nread));
+    remainder = dividend % 97;
+  }
+  EXITIF (1 != remainder);
+  GNUNET_free (nbuf);
+  return 1;
+
+ EXITIF_exit:
+  GNUNET_free (nbuf);
+  return 0;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Check if the given wire format JSON object is correctly formatted
+ *
+ * @param type the type of the wire format
+ * @param wire the JSON wire format object
+ * @return 1 if correctly formatted; 0 if not
+ */
+int
+TALER_JSON_validate_wireformat (const char *type, json_t *wire)
+{
+  json_error_t error;
+  if (0 == strcmp ("SEPA", type))
+  {
+    const char *type;
+    const char *iban;
+    const char *name;
+    const char *bic;
+    const char *edate;
+    uint64_t r;
+    const char *address;
+    UNPACK_EXITIF (0 != json_unpack_ex
+                   (wire, &error, JSON_STRICT,
+                    "{"
+                    "s:s " /* type: "SEPA" */
+                    "s:s " /* IBAN: iban */
+                    "s:s " /* name: beneficiary name */
+                    "s:s " /* BIC: beneficiary bank's BIC */
+                    "s:s " /* edate: transfer execution date */
+                    "s:i " /* r: random 64-bit integer nounce */
+                    "s?s " /* address: address of the beneficiary */
+                    "}",
+                    "type", &type,
+                    "IBAN", &iban,
+                    "name", &name,
+                    "bic", &bic,
+                    "edate", &edate,
+                    "r", &r,
+                    "address", &address));
+    EXITIF (0 != strcmp (type, "SEPA"));
+    EXITIF (1 != validate_iban (iban));
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+ EXITIF_exit:
+  return 0;
+}
+
 /* End of util/json.c */
diff --git a/src/util/test_json_validations.c b/src/util/test_json_validations.c
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a5747c94a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/util/test_json_validations.c
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+/*
+  This file is part of TALER
+  (C) 2014 Christian Grothoff (and other contributing authors)
+
+  TALER is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
+  terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
+  Foundation; either version 3, or (at your option) any later version.
+
+  TALER is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
+  WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR
+  A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
+  TALER; see the file COPYING.  If not, If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>
+*/
+
+/**
+ * @file util/test_json_validations.c
+ * @brief Tests for JSON validations
+ * @author Sree Harsha Totakura <sreeharsha@totakura.in> 
+ */
+
+#include "platform.h"
+#include "taler_util.h"
+#include "taler_json_lib.h"
+
+static const char * const json_wire_str =
+    "{ \"type\":\"SEPA\", \
+\"IBAN\":\"DE67830654080004822650\",                 \
+\"name\":\"GNUnet e.V.\",                               \
+\"bic\":\"GENODEF1SLR\",                                 \
+\"edate\":\"1449930207000\",                                \
+\"r\":123456789,                                     \
+\"address\": \"foobar\"}";
+
+int main(int argc, const char *const argv[])
+{
+  json_t *wire;
+  json_error_t error;
+  int ret;
+
+  GNUNET_log_setup ("test-json-validations", "WARNING", NULL);
+  (void) memset(&error, 0, sizeof(error));
+  wire = json_loads (json_wire_str, 0, &error);
+  if (NULL == wire)
+  {
+    TALER_JSON_warn (error);
+    return 2;
+  }
+  ret = TALER_JSON_validate_wireformat ("SEPA", wire);
+  if (1 == ret)
+    return 0;
+  return 1;
+}