Look up any SEPA R-transaction reason code — meaning, which rulebook(s) it applies to (SCT, SCT Inst, SDD Core, SDD B2B), who generates it, and what to do next. 44 codes total across account, amount, mandate, agent/format, regulatory, infrastructure, and recall categories.
Not sure? Ask your PSP for the scheme name and the R-transaction type from its payment/collection record. A code or an ISO message name alone does not identify both. Applicability uses this reference dataset; it is not a bank decision.
Context: scheme not confirmed; all codes. Confirm scheme and event with the PSP before acting.
Showing all 44 SEPA codes.
No codes match your search. Browse the full reference: SEPA R-Transaction Reference →
SCT Inst Infrastructure
The beneficiary PSP did not receive the initial SCT Inst transaction within the applicable scheme or agreed shorter time-out deadline; the issue can occur along the message path.
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists this SCT Inst code as Reject, not an ordinary Return; the specific cause and next action must be read with the PSP record.
SCT Inst Infrastructure
A CSM did not receive the initial transaction or the relevant confirmation within the applicable time-out deadline; connection, processing or validation may be involved.
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists this SCT Inst code as Reject, not an ordinary Return; the specific cause and next action must be read with the PSP record.
SCT Inst Infrastructure
A participating bank was unreachable at the time of the transaction.
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists this SCT Inst code as Reject, not an ordinary Return; the specific cause and next action must be read with the PSP record.
SCT Inst Infrastructure
The beneficiary bank's system was down at the time of the transaction.
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists this SCT Inst code as Reject, not an ordinary Return; the specific cause and next action must be read with the PSP record.
Account
IBAN format is invalid, the check digit fails, or the account does not exist. Usually a mandate-capture or payment-initiation data-entry error.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Account
The creditor IBAN entered on the credit transfer does not match the intended beneficiary, or the customer realizes after sending that they used the wrong IBAN.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: RFRO. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Account
For SDD, the debtor closed their account since the mandate was created. For SCT/SCT Inst, the creditor account was closed before the credit transfer settled, or before a recall could be honored.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject or negative Recall/RFRO response. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Account
Account frozen by the account holder, a legal/bankruptcy order, or a bank-side risk restriction.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Account
The debtor's account type does not permit direct debits — for example, a savings account that cannot be collected against under SEPA rules.
Agent & Format
The account cannot accept the relevant transaction: an SDD debit restriction, or a credit transfer forbidden on the beneficiary account.
Scheme note: SDD: debit forbidden for regulatory reasons; B2B sent to a consumer account uses AC13. SCT: Return (EPC135-18 v6.1, p6). SCT Inst: Reject (EPC059-18 v7.1, p9); do not assume switching schemes is permitted.
Agent & Format
The instruction contains an incorrect scheme identification or operation code, such as service level or local instrument; check the actual scheme and message.
Scheme note: SCT: Reject/Return (EPC135-18 v6.1, p6); SCT Inst: Reject (EPC059-18 v7.1, p9). SDD uses its own operation-code rules. Use FF01 for a specific XML format error rather than treating every format defect as AG02.
SCT Inst Infrastructure
A Beneficiary PSP or CSM did not receive the initial payment identified by a status investigation. The investigation may have been misrouted, or there may be a connection or processing issue.
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists this SCT Inst code as Reject, not an ordinary Return; the specific cause and next action must be read with the PSP record.
SCT Inst Infrastructure
A bank in the payment chain has been excluded from the SCT Inst network, generically (could be either side).
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists this SCT Inst code as Reject, not an ordinary Return; the specific cause and next action must be read with the PSP record.
SCT Inst Infrastructure
Specifically the beneficiary's bank has been suspended from the SCT Inst network.
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists this SCT Inst code as Reject, not an ordinary Return; the specific cause and next action must be read with the PSP record.
Amount & Funds
An older or provider-specific amount-limit response. The 2025 SCT Inst implementation guidelines removed AM02 from negative confirmations, and current EPC inter-PSP guidance does not list it.
Scheme note: Historical lookup retained for existing links; no current scheme applicability is asserted. The 2025 SCT Inst implementation guidelines removed AM02 from their negative-confirmation lists.
Amount & Funds
For SDD, insufficient debtor funds for the collection. For a SCT/SCT Inst Recall or RFRO response, insufficient beneficiary funds to recover the requested amount; it does not diagnose the original payer balance.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: negative Recall/RFRO response for insufficient beneficiary funds. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Insufficient debtor funds for the collection; this is the SDD Return context, not the credit-transfer recovery response.
Next request: Contact the debtor and ask the PSP whether re-presentation is permitted under the mandate and applicable terms.
Limit: AM04 alone does not establish when funds will be available, a universal retry schedule or a refund right.
Insufficient beneficiary funds to recover the requested amount. It does not diagnose the original payer balance.
Next request: Ask the originator PSP to explain the negative recovery response and available recovery options; reconcile the original payment separately.
Limit: This response does not authorize reissuing the original transfer or prove that funds were recovered. Confirm any applicable procedure and deadline with the PSP.
Insufficient beneficiary funds to recover the requested amount, in a negative recovery response; this is not an ordinary SCT Inst Return.
Next request: Ask the originator PSP for the recovery case status and available options. Do not repeat the original payment as a retry.
Limit: The code alone does not prove recovery or establish a new payment instruction, retry permission or deadline.
Amount & Funds
The same debit or credit transfer was submitted more than once — usually a file-resubmission or integration retry bug on the originator side.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Amount & Funds
The customer identifies that an incorrect amount was sent on a completed SCT/SCT Inst payment.
Scheme note: RFRO-specific — this is a customer-initiated recall reason for SCT/SCT Inst, not a return/reject code raised by a bank.
Amount & Funds
The originator PSP has insufficient prefunded inter-PSP settlement guarantees for this SCT Inst transaction.
Scheme note: EPC059-18 v7.1 lists AM23 as the current SCT Inst inter-PSP settlement-limit Reject reason.
Response
The funds referenced in the recall/RFRO were already reversed through a separate process before the recall request arrived.
Scheme note: One of four negative-response codes (with NOOR, LEGL, AC04).
Agent & Format
In SEPA operator usage this most commonly reflects an incorrect or unregistered Creditor Identifier — the Creditor ID in the collection message does not match a registered creditor. A common failure during new SDD program setup.
Scheme note: The article covers BE05 in prose rather than in the SDD table — it is grouped under agent/party-identification failures in ISO 20022 external code sets rather than the AG/FF table grouping. Confidence is medium relative to the table-sourced codes above.
Account
The beneficiary bank BIC/routing data does not match a registered participant in the clearing system used for the transfer.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Recall / RFRO
The customer asks for recovery — commonly a wrong beneficiary or a duplicate the customer identified themselves — after the payment has already settled.
Scheme note: RFRO-specific — the customer-initiated counterpart to the bank-initiated Recall procedure (DUPL/TECH/FRAD). Up to 13 months for all RFRO reasons, not just fraud.
Account
The originator's bank BIC/routing data does not match a registered participant in the clearing system.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Recall / RFRO
Two identical pacs.008 messages were submitted; the originator bank initiates recovery of one via camt.056.
Scheme note: One of three bank-initiated Recall reason codes (with TECH and FRAD); initiation window is 10 banking business days from the execution date. Distinct from the AM05 return/reject code, which covers a duplicate collection or payment that has not yet gone through the Recall procedure.
Agent & Format
The message does not conform to the ISO 20022 schema — malformed XML, invalid mandate reference format, or a missing mandatory field.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Agent & Format
The LocalInstrument field (CORE or B2B) does not match the account's registered capabilities — for example, sending a B2B-flagged collection against an account only enrolled for SDD Core.
Response
The beneficiary bank agrees to the Recall or RFRO and returns the funds via pacs.004.
Scheme note: The only valid reason code for a positive response to either a Recall or an RFRO — there is no separate positive-response code per procedure.
Recall / RFRO
Suspected fraud on the sending side of an SCT/SCT Inst payment.
Scheme note: The only Recall reason code with an extended window — up to 13 months, versus 10 banking business days for DUPL/TECH. Unlike a beneficiary declining an RFRO for CUST/AM09/AC03, declining a FRAD recall carries meaningfully higher legal exposure.
Response
A legal proceeding, court order, or regulatory action in the beneficiary jurisdiction prevents the bank from returning the funds.
Scheme note: One of four negative-response codes (with NOOR, ARDT, AC04); the only one that is legal rather than operational/technical in nature.
Mandate
No valid mandate on file, the mandate was cancelled, the SequenceType (FRST/RCUR/FNAL) does not match, or — for SDD B2B — the mandate was never pre-registered at the debtor bank before the first collection.
Scheme note: The highest-signal mandate failure code — the debtor bank explicitly checked and could not match a valid registered mandate. Particularly definitive for SDD B2B, where mandates are pre-registered at the debtor bank.
Mandate
Mandatory mandate fields — mandate reference, signature date, creditor identifier — are absent or malformed in the collection message.
Mandate
The debtor exercises the SDD Core 8-week no-questions-asked refund right on an authorized collection.
Scheme note: SDD Core only — there is no MD06 equivalent in SDD B2B. A B2B debtor who wants to contest a collection must do so as an unauthorized claim (no valid mandate) through a different process, not MD06.
Mandate
The relevant end customer is deceased: debtor in SDD, beneficiary in SCT/SCT Inst.
Scheme note: SDD guidance permits MS03 substitution where national law restricts disclosure. SCT: Return (EPC135-18 v6.1, p12); SCT Inst: Reject (EPC059-18 v7.1, p16), also with a disclosure-limited MS03 alternative. MS03 alone does not identify the hidden reason.
Debtor Refusal & Unspecified
A customer-instructed refusal without a specified reason: the debtor refuses an SDD collection, or the beneficiary refuses an SCT/SCT Inst receipt.
Scheme note: Credit-transfer guidance: SCT Return (EPC135-18 v6.1, p13); SCT Inst Reject (EPC059-18 v7.1, p16). These concern beneficiary refusal, distinct from debtor refusal of an SDD collection.
Debtor Refusal & Unspecified
The agent has not specified the reason. National-law disclosure limits may lead to MS03 in SDD, SCT or SCT Inst; the permitted event and substitution scope differ by scheme. It does not identify the hidden reason or establish that a retry is safe.
Scheme note: SDD: Reject/Return (EPC173-14 v8.1); SCT: Reject/Return (EPC135-18 v6.1, p14); SCT Inst: Reject (EPC059-18 v7.1, p16). SCT RR04 cannot be replaced by MS03 in a negative Claim Non-Receipt inquiry response. No universal affected-country list or hidden-cause frequency is established.
The agent has not specified the reason. The cited SDD guidance permits substitution for AC04, AM04, MD07 or RR01–RR04 where national law restricts disclosure.
Next request: Pause automated retries. Ask the PSP what it can disclose, which event occurred and whether any remedy or re-presentation is appropriate.
Limit: Do not infer account closure or insufficient funds from MS03, or derive a deadline or permission to retry.
The reason is undisclosed. The cited MS03 row permits substitution where national legislation prevents AC04 or RR01–RR04 disclosure.
Next request: Ask the PSP for the actual event and what can be disclosed; coordinate with the beneficiary about settling any outstanding obligation.
Limit: Do not infer a hidden cause or permission to resend. MS03 cannot replace RR04 in a negative Claim Non-Receipt inquiry response.
The cited MS03 row permits substitution where national legislation prevents disclosure of AC04 or RR01–RR04; the separate MD07 row also allows MS03 as an alternative.
Next request: Ask the originator PSP what can be disclosed and confirm the rejection and next permitted action before considering a new instruction.
Limit: This is a Reject context, not an ordinary SCT Inst Return. No particular hidden reason, retry permission or deadline follows from MS03.
Response
The funds referenced in the recall/RFRO never actually arrived at the beneficiary bank.
Scheme note: One of four negative-response codes (with ARDT, LEGL, AC04) a beneficiary bank can send instead of complying with a Recall or RFRO.
Account
The BIC submitted with the credit transfer is malformed or does not match the IBAN provided.
Scheme note: SCT Inst context in EPC059-18 v7.1: Reject. Other listed schemes have their own uses; the combined R-types list is not a cross-product of every scheme and event.
Regulatory
A regulatory requirement for debtor account identification was not met in the payment message.
Scheme note: Shared across SCT, SCT Inst, and SDD with the same meaning — one of four regulatory codes (RR01–RR04) common to all four rulebooks.
Regulatory
Required debtor name or address is absent or invalid under the applicable scheme rules. The EPC removed the superseded 15 November 2026 unstructured-address end date from its September 2026 guidance; check current implementation requirements rather than assuming that date applies.
Scheme note: Shared across SCT, SCT Inst, and SDD. The November 2024 EPC guidance update added structured-address requirements to this code.
Regulatory
Required creditor name or address is absent or invalid under the applicable scheme rules; the code alone does not establish that an unstructured address is now prohibited.
Scheme note: The shared R-type label is not a per-scheme rule: SCT Inst uses Reject only; SDD permits Reject or Return. The 2026 EPC edition removed an obsolete unstructured-address end-date reference; it did not establish a new universal address ban.
Regulatory
A regulatory reason other than the missing details covered by RR01–RR03. The code alone does not identify an AML or sanctions finding, a particular party, or misconduct.
Scheme note: SDD and SCT guidance allow RR04 on Reject or Return; SCT also uses it in a negative Claim Non-Receipt inquiry response. SCT Inst guidance lists RR04 for Reject. MS03 may replace RR04 where national law restricts disclosure, except in an SCT negative Claim Non-Receipt inquiry response (EPC135-18 v6.1, p18).
A regulatory reason, including a negative reply to a Claim Non-Receipt inquiry; read the actual event before assuming money was returned.
Next request: Ask the PSP for the event, reporting institution, original reference and what can be disclosed or remedied.
Limit: The code does not identify a specific regulatory breach, prove recovery, or establish a retry permission or deadline. MS03 substitution is not allowed for this code in a negative Claim Non-Receipt inquiry response.
A regulatory reason for rejection in the cited SCT Inst guidance; this is not an ordinary post-settlement Return.
Next request: Ask the originator PSP to confirm the rejection, what can be disclosed and whether remediation and a new instruction are permitted.
Limit: Do not infer an AML or sanctions finding, a universal deadline, or permission to resend from RR04.
A regulatory reason other than the missing details covered by RR01–RR03. MS03 may substitute where national law restricts disclosure.
Next request: Ask the PSP which collection event occurred and what can be disclosed and remedied before any re-presentation.
Limit: RR04 alone does not identify the underlying issue or establish a refund right, retry permission or deadline.
Debtor Refusal & Unspecified
The creditor is not on the debtor's whitelist, or the collection exceeds a limit the debtor configured with their bank (a common SDD B2B mandate-limit control).
Recall / RFRO
A processing error on the originator side generated an erroneous transaction.
Scheme note: One of three bank-initiated Recall reason codes; 10 banking business day initiation window.
This tool targets "look up this code right now." For the narrative explanation of the six R-transaction types, the scheme applicability matrix, timing windows, and the Recall/RFRO recovery procedures, read the full reference article.
Reason-code definitions and timing windows come from EPC scheme rulebooks and guidance documents — verify against your bank or PSP before acting on a specific case.