pacs.003 — FI to FI Customer Direct Debit
Interbank message that carries a customer direct debit (single or batch) from the creditor bank to the debtor bank through a clearing system (SEPA SDD Core/B2B, or CBPR+ cross-border).
Purpose: interbank direct debit
pacs.003 is the interbank image of a customer pain.008. The creditor sends the pain.008 to its bank, which translates it into pacs.003 to dispatch to the CSM (STEP2 for SEPA Core / B2B, TARGET2 and EBA services for instant clearing). The CSM forwards the pacs.003 to the debtor bank, which debits the debtor's account on the settlement date.
XML structure
Wrapped in <FIToFICstmrDrctDbt>. GrpHdr + DrctDbtTxInf (repeatable).
| Element | Role |
|---|---|
PmtTpInf/SvcLvl | SEPA (Core/B2B/instant) or G002 CBPR+. |
PmtTpInf/LclInstrm | CORE / B2B (SEPA) or COR1 / OOFF (instant). |
PmtTpInf/SeqTp | FRST (first) / RCUR (recurring) / OOFF (one-off) / FNAL (final). |
MndtRltdInf | Mandate ID + signature date. |
CdtrSchmeId | Creditor Identifier (ICS in France "FR06ZZZxxx"). |
Example: SEPA SDD direct debit
ACME SARL debits 299 EUR from Hans Mueller GmbH, RCUR sequence, mandate signed December 2025:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Document xmlns="urn:iso:std:iso:20022:tech:xsd:pacs.003.001.08">
<FIToFICstmrDrctDbt>
<GrpHdr>
<MsgId>SDD-COR-20260518-001</MsgId>
<CreDtTm>2026-05-18T09:00:00+02:00</CreDtTm>
<NbOfTxs>1</NbOfTxs>
<CtrlSum>299.00</CtrlSum>
<SttlmInf>
<SttlmMtd>CLRG</SttlmMtd>
<ClrSys><Cd>SEPA</Cd></ClrSys>
</SttlmInf>
</GrpHdr>
<DrctDbtTxInf>
<PmtId>
<InstrId>BNPP-INSTR-2026101</InstrId>
<EndToEndId>SUBSCRIPTION-2026-Q2</EndToEndId>
<TxId>BNPP-TX-2026101</TxId>
<UETR>9a8b7c6d-5e4f-3a2b-1c0d-9e8f7a6b5c4d</UETR>
</PmtId>
<PmtTpInf>
<SvcLvl><Cd>SEPA</Cd></SvcLvl>
<LclInstrm><Cd>CORE</Cd></LclInstrm>
<SeqTp>RCUR</SeqTp>
</PmtTpInf>
<IntrBkSttlmAmt Ccy="EUR">299.00</IntrBkSttlmAmt>
<IntrBkSttlmDt>2026-05-20</IntrBkSttlmDt>
<ChrgBr>SLEV</ChrgBr>
<MndtRltdInf>
<MndtId>ACME-MNDT-2025-00777</MndtId>
<DtOfSgntr>2025-12-15</DtOfSgntr>
</MndtRltdInf>
<CdtrSchmeId>
<Id><PrvtId><Othr><Id>FR06ZZZ123456</Id></Othr></PrvtId></Id>
</CdtrSchmeId>
<Cdtr><Nm>ACME SARL</Nm></Cdtr>
<CdtrAcct>
<Id><IBAN>FR7630006000011234567890189</IBAN></Id>
</CdtrAcct>
<CdtrAgt>
<FinInstnId><BICFI>BNPAFRPP</BICFI></FinInstnId>
</CdtrAgt>
<DbtrAgt>
<FinInstnId><BICFI>DEUTDEFF</BICFI></FinInstnId>
</DbtrAgt>
<Dbtr><Nm>HANS MUELLER GMBH</Nm></Dbtr>
<DbtrAcct>
<Id><IBAN>DE89370400440532013000</IBAN></Id>
</DbtrAcct>
<RmtInf>
<Ustrd>SUBSCRIPTION-2026-Q2 ACME PRO</Ustrd>
</RmtInf>
</DrctDbtTxInf>
</FIToFICstmrDrctDbt>
</Document>Common pitfalls
- Wrong SeqTp: FRST if first direct debit under the mandate ; RCUR on all subsequent. Frequent error = repeated FRST → R-message reject MS03.
- D-2 vs D-5: SDD Core demands creditor pre-notification ≥ 14 days before debit (unless shorter agreement with debtor).
- Missing UETR: mandatory in CBPR+ since Nov 2025 ; missing = CSM reject.
- Malformed CdtrSchmeId: the ICS must comply with country format (FR06ZZZ123456, DE98ZZZ09999999999).
MT104 equivalence
The SWIFT MT equivalent is MT104 (Direct Debit). pacs.003 is richer on the mandate (MndtRltdInf), the creditor identifier and the sequence (SeqTp). Cross-border MT104 between correspondent banks was retired on 22 November 2025 (CBPR+) in favour of pacs.003.