Rule reference · SEPA Credit Transfer scheme rules · Identifiers

SEPA-SCT-ID-004: Message or payment information ID is blank

The message identification (MsgId) or a payment information identification (PmtInfId) consists of spaces only. The ISO 20022 schema accepts it (at least one character), but the guidelines do not allow elements without content, and an identification of spaces identifies nothing.

Severity	BLOCKER Blocker: the run fails
Status	Recommendation, or depends on your agreement with the bank
Applies to	pain.001.001.09, SEPA Credit Transfer
Elements checked	/Document/CstmrCdtTrfInitn/*/MsgId · PmtInfId
Source	EPC132-08 2025 Version 1.0, section 1.3 (empty elements are not allowed); 2.1.1, items 1.1 and 2.1 · Standards and sources
Rule pack	sepa.sct.pain001.v09 v5, effective 2025-10-05

Why it matters

Banks use these identifications for duplicate checks and status reports; a blank one is commonly rejected.

How to fix it

Check how message and payment information identifiers are generated; an empty source field must not be exported as spaces.

Example

Synthetic XML fragments.

Example that fails

<PmtInf>
  <PmtInfId>   </PmtInfId>
  <PmtMtd>TRF</PmtMtd>
  <BtchBookg>true</BtchBookg>
  <NbOfTxs>4</NbOfTxs>
  <CtrlSum>6460.44</CtrlSum>
  <PmtTpInf>…</PmtTpInf>
  <ReqdExctnDt>…</ReqdExctnDt>
  <Dbtr>…</Dbtr>
  <DbtrAcct>…</DbtrAcct>
  <DbtrAgt>…</DbtrAgt>
  <ChrgBr>SLEV</ChrgBr>
  …
</PmtInf>

Corrected

<PmtInf>
  <PmtInfId>PMTINF-0001</PmtInfId>
  <PmtMtd>TRF</PmtMtd>
  <BtchBookg>true</BtchBookg>
  <NbOfTxs>4</NbOfTxs>
  <CtrlSum>6460.44</CtrlSum>
  <PmtTpInf>…</PmtTpInf>
  <ReqdExctnDt>…</ReqdExctnDt>
  <Dbtr>…</Dbtr>
  <DbtrAcct>…</DbtrAcct>
  <DbtrAgt>…</DbtrAgt>
  <ChrgBr>SLEV</ChrgBr>
  …
</PmtInf>

Linty calls this bug the Reference Scribbler. Try it in Spot the bug

Try it with a synthetic example

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

Payment information identification of spaces only: the schema accepts it, but it identifies nothing. FAIL · Download · Validate it

Explained in

SEPA Credit Transfer rules for pain.001.001.09

SEPA-SCT-ID-001: Message or payment information ID violates SEPA character rules
SEPA-SCT-ID-002: Transaction reference violates SEPA character rules
SEPA-SCT-ID-003: Payment information identification used twice
SEPA-SCT-ID-005: Transaction reference is blank
SEPA-SCT-ID-006: Debtor-side party with more than one Other identification
SEPA-SCT-ID-007: Transaction party with more than one Other identification

Questions

What does SEPA-SCT-ID-004 check?

How do I fix “Message or payment information ID is blank”?

Check how message and payment information identifiers are generated; an empty source field must not be exported as spaces.

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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