SEPA-SCT-CHARSET-003: Debtor-side text has control characters or non-Latin script

The name or address of the initiating party, the debtor or the ultimate debtor (payment information level) contains control characters (for example tabs or line breaks) or characters from a non-Latin script (for example Cyrillic or Greek). PSPs only have to support the basic Latin set; anything beyond it needs a bilateral or multilateral agreement.

Severity	WARNING Warning: the run needs review
Status	Recommendation, or depends on your agreement with the bank
Applies to	pain.001.001.09, SEPA Credit Transfer
Elements checked	/Document/CstmrCdtTrfInitn//InitgPty/Nm /Document/CstmrCdtTrfInitn//InitgPty/PstlAdr/* /Document/CstmrCdtTrfInitn//Dbtr/Nm /Document/CstmrCdtTrfInitn//Dbtr/PstlAdr/* /Document/CstmrCdtTrfInitn//UltmtDbtr/Nm /Document/CstmrCdtTrfInitn//UltmtDbtr/PstlAdr/*
Source	EPC132-08 2025 Version 1.0, section 1.4 Character Set · Standards and sources
Rule pack	sepa.sct.pain001.v09 v5, effective 2025-10-05

Why it matters

The payee's bank may reject the payment or replace these characters. The debtor's name and address travel with every payment.

How to fix it

Check the company code name and address in the source system and the character conversion settings of the export, or confirm with your bank that it accepts this character set.

Example

Synthetic XML fragments.

Example that fails

<Dbtr>
  <Nm>Синтетик AG</Nm>
  <PstlAdr>…</PstlAdr>
</Dbtr>

Corrected

<Dbtr>
  <Nm>Synthetic Corp Example AG</Nm>
  <PstlAdr>…</PstlAdr>
</Dbtr>

Try it with a synthetic example

These files are synthetic test data from BankLint's test corpus. Download one, or validate it directly.

Debtor name in Cyrillic: non-Latin script on the debtor side, advisory WARNING. REVIEW · Download · Validate it

Explained in

SEPA Credit Transfer rules for pain.001.001.09

SEPA-SCT-CHARSET-001: Text contains control characters or non-Latin script
SEPA-SCT-CHARSET-002: Characters outside the SEPA basic Latin set
SEPA-SCT-CHARSET-004: Debtor-side text outside the SEPA basic Latin set

Questions

What does SEPA-SCT-CHARSET-003 check?

The name or address of the initiating party, the debtor or the ultimate debtor (payment information level) contains control characters (for example tabs or line breaks) or characters from a non-Latin script (for example Cyrillic or Greek). PSPs only have to support the basic Latin set; anything beyond it needs a bilateral or multilateral agreement.

How do I fix “Debtor-side text has control characters or non-Latin script”?

Check the company code name and address in the source system and the character conversion settings of the export, or confirm with your bank that it accepts this character set.

Is this a SEPA requirement?

It is a recommendation of the EPC SEPA Credit Transfer implementation guidelines, or depends on your agreement with the bank.

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