Jim Rees and others are correct, and the headline is incorrect. EBCDIC isn't the culprit. EBCDIC has had codepages for eons, and that'd be one classic way the bank could solve this problem -- or should have solved this problem decades ago. It's a well solved problem. Another way, probably better nowadays, is to use Unicode (UTF-8 probably). Whether it's IBM Z or IBM i, these systems definitely support Unicode and have since the 1990s. The implementation could be in hybrid-quick-hacky fashion. For example, put some "trigger/escape code" in the existing name field (with the current not great EBCDIC codepage choice) that then points to a UTF-8 encoded name stored alongside. It'd require an application code change, sure, but it's not rocket science actually. Here's the real headline: "Bank that won't change anything is incompatible with the GDPR."