pain.008 (Direct Debit Initiation)
pain.008 is the ISO 20022 message a creditor sends to its bank to collect SEPA direct debits — each transaction carrying the mandate ID and signature date that authorize pulling money from the debtor’s account.
How it differs from pain.001
pain.001 pushes money out; pain.008 pulls money in. Because you are debiting someone else’s account, SEPA requires proof of authorization: every transaction references a mandate — the signed SDD authorization — via a unique mandate ID and its date of signature, and the creditor is identified by a creditor scheme ID issued under the EPC scheme.
The file comes in two flavors matching the SDD schemes: CORE (collecting from consumers and businesses) and B2B (business-to-business only, shorter timelines, no debtor refund rights). Collection timing matters — files must reach the bank a set number of business days before the requested collection date.
Generating and validating
Like pain.001, the file carries a group header with NbOfTxs and CtrlSum that banks verify. Our SEPA XML Generator builds pain.008.001.02 collections from a CSV of mandate references and amounts, and the validator checks mandate-related fields alongside schema and rulebook constraints.
Related Standards
- •ISO 20022 — pain.008 Customer Direct Debit Initiation
- •EPC SDD rulebooks — CORE and B2B
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