Beneficiary or Account Holder (Other Than a Representative Payee) Deceased

Nacha's definition

(1) The beneficiary is deceased, or (2) The account holder is deceased.

Verbatim from Nacha — ISO 20022 Guide to Mapping U.S. ACH Return Items and Notifications of Change, August 2023, Version 2.01 (Table 1, return reason codes) (return reason code table). Applies to: ALL.

How it appears in an ISO 20022 statement

Nacha's mapping guide maps R15 to camt.053 reason code MD07 (End Customer Deceased) — ISO definition: End customer is deceased.

Return time frame

Nacha's public rule pages refer to the standard "two-day" return time frame for returns that are not extended (unauthorized) returns. The governing time limit for this code is set in the Nacha Operating Rules, which Nacha sells and which were not used here, so it is not restated.

Source: Nacha — rule page 'ACH Network Risk and Enforcement Topics' (unauthorized return rate threshold; reinitiation of entries)

Can the entry be reinitiated?

Nacha's reinitiation rule governs resubmission of returned debit entries; it does not arise for this code. See the definition and the operator note for what the return means and who acts on it.

Source: Nacha — rule page 'ACH Network Risk and Enforcement Topics' (unauthorized return rate threshold; reinitiation of entries)

What an operator does next

The beneficiary or account holder is deceased. Stop the schedule; the Green Book encourages RDFIs to use R14 and R15 to notify federal agencies of a death, and a private-sector originator should treat it the same way.

PaymentBrief guidance, not Nacha text. Your ODFI's procedures and the current Nacha Operating Rules govern.

Where this comes up on PaymentBrief

Sources for this code

• Nacha — ISO 20022 Guide to Mapping U.S. ACH Return Items and Notifications of Change, August 2023, Version 2.01 (Table 1, return reason codes) — nacha-mapping-guide, retrieved 2026-09-06
• Nacha — rule page 'ACH Network Risk and Enforcement Topics' (unauthorized return rate threshold; reinitiation of entries) — nacha-rule-page, retrieved 2026-09-06
• US Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service — Green Book, Chapter 4: Returns (return reason codes for federal ACH credits; dishonored return codes) — government-guide, retrieved 2026-09-06
• Federal Reserve Financial Services — FedGlobal ACH Payments Origination Manual, 3 August 2026 (return item code tables) — ach-operator-manual, retrieved 2026-09-06