pain.007 ISO 20022 message
Published on
03/09/2026
Updated on
03/09/2026
Reading time
3 min
pain.007 ISO 20022 message: Definition
pain.007 ISO 20022 message stands for “Customer Payment Reversal”. With this ISO 20022 XML message, a payee (creditor) instructs their bank to reverse a direct debit that has already been collected and settled – the amount is credited back to the payer (debtor).
pain.007 ISO 20022 message: Scope
The pain.007 is the customer-to-bank format for a reversal in the SEPA direct debit schemes and thus the counterpart of the pain.008 ISO 20022 message with which the direct debit was originally submitted. It always refers to one or more direct debits that have already been settled and carries their references (mandate reference, creditor identifier, end-to-end ID, amount, settlement date) as well as a reversal reason code. The creditor bank converts the pain.007 into a pacs.007 ISO 20022 message (FI to FI payment reversal) and forwards it to the debtor bank via the SEPA-Clearer or another CSM.
The reversal is one of the R-transactions and the only one initiated by the creditor itself. It presupposes a settlement that was wrong – typically a duplicate collection or a collection without a valid reason – and must not be confused with the other R-transactions:
- Reject (pain.002 / pacs.002) – rejection before settlement
- Return (pacs.004) – return by the debtor bank after settlement, e.g. due to insufficient funds
- Refund (pacs.004) – refund at the debtor’s request within 8 weeks (SDD Core) or 13 months for an unauthorised direct debit
- Reversal (pain.007 / pacs.007) – reversal by the creditor or the creditor bank after settlement
The debtor bank cannot refuse a reversal; it must credit the amount to the debtor. The debtor’s consent is not required. The reversal amount and the original amount must be identical.
pain.007 ISO 20022 message: Usage
General
If, after collection, the creditor finds that a direct debit should not have been collected, it submits a pain.007 via its bank connection (e.g. EBICS). The creditor bank checks references and deadline and sends a pacs.007 to the debtor bank, which credits the amount to the debtor with reference to the original direct debit. Both customers receive the booking via their account statements or notifications (camt.054 / camt.053).
SEPA SDD Core and SDD B2B
Customer-to-PSP Reversal – pain.007.001.09
Inter-PSP Reversal – pacs.007.001.09
In the SDD schemes (Core and B2B), the creditor may submit a reversal up to 5 banking business days after the settlement date of the original direct debit. The creditor bank may also initiate a reversal itself if it detects incorrect processing; in that case a pacs.007 is sent directly. The rulebook provides the following reversal reason codes: AM05 (duplication), MS02 (reason not specified, customer generated) and MS03 (reason not specified, agent generated); an overview of all codes can be found under Overview of SEPA reason codes. If the deadline has passed or the reference cannot be found, the creditor bank rejects the pain.007 with a pain.002. The complete dialogue:
A reversal is technically possible for the creditor even if the direct debit has already been returned – in that case, however, the debtor bank rejects the reversal, as there is no longer any amount to reverse. Once the 5-day deadline has passed, the creditor’s only option is repayment by credit transfer (pain.001).
DFÜ agreement (Germany)
In the DFÜ agreement of the German Banking Industry Committee, the pain.007 is described as the customer-to-bank format for reversals of SEPA direct debits and is submitted via EBICS with the corresponding order type. Not all banks support the submission of reversals by the customer; alternatively, the reversal is executed as a credit transfer.
SEPA SCT
There is no customer reversal in the credit transfer scheme: a credit transfer that has already been executed can only be recalled via a recall (camt.056), to which the beneficiary must consent.