PacsLintISO 20022 payment file checker

Converting pain.001.001.03 to pain.001.001.09: what changes

Banks are phasing out pain.001.001.03. Moving a file to .09 changes far less than most people expect: a handful of element names and wrappers. Every amount, account, name, date and ID stays exactly the same.

Convert a .03 file now Free · runs in your browser · nothing is uploaded

Mapping taken from the official ISO 20022 schemas for pain.001.001.03 and .09 · status last checked: 14 October 2026

  • German banks: the Deutsche Kreditwirtschaft planned to retire legacy formats in November 2026. On 24 September 2026 it suspended that step and keeps the old formats running for now; new end dates will be announced later. The reason given: Swift and the EPC postponed the end of unstructured addresses.
  • Individual banks: some bank pages still show November 2026, for example UniCredit's format overview, which lists pain.001.001.03 as no longer supported for SEPA from November 2026, and Volksbank Stuttgart's page, which names 15 November 2026. Ask your bank which date it applies.
  • Direction: postponed is not cancelled. Converting now means the change is done before a new date is set.

Every change, from the official schemas

We compared every element path in the .03 and .09 schemas. These are all the places where a .03 file does not fit .09 as it is:

In pain.001.001.03In pain.001.001.09Where
Namespace …pain.001.001.03…pain.001.001.09Root element
<BIC><BICFI>Every bank: debtor agent, creditor agent, intermediaries, forwarding and charges agent
<BICOrBEI><AnyBIC>Organisation IDs of the initiating party, debtor and other parties
<ReqdExctnDt>2026-10-20</ReqdExctnDt><ReqdExctnDt><Dt>2026-10-20</Dt></ReqdExctnDt>Each payment block
<AdrTp>ADDR</AdrTp><AdrTp><Cd>ADDR</Cd></AdrTp>Any postal address that has an address type
<AdmstnZn><AdmstnZone>Tax information
<DscntApldAmt Ccy="EUR">5.00</…>, same for TaxAmt<DscntApldAmt><Amt Ccy="EUR">5.00</Amt></…>Structured remittance, referred document amounts
RmtLctnMtd, RmtLctnElctrncAdr, RmtLctnPstlAdrRmtLctnDtls with Mtd, ElctrncAdr, PstlAdrRelated remittance information
<CtctDtls><Othr> as free text<Othr> with a required channel type (ChanlTp) and an IdContact details. Needs your input: the channel type isn't in the .03 file

Everything else in a .03 file carries over unchanged. Version .09 adds optional fields, such as more structured address parts, LEIs and account proxies, but a converted file doesn't need them.

Before and after

pain.001.001.03 
<ReqdExctnDt>2026-10-20</ReqdExctnDt>
<DbtrAgt>
  <FinInstnId>
    <BIC>COBADEFFXXX</BIC>
  </FinInstnId>
</DbtrAgt>
pain.001.001.09 
<ReqdExctnDt>
  <Dt>2026-10-20</Dt>
</ReqdExctnDt>
<DbtrAgt>
  <FinInstnId>
    <BICFI>COBADEFFXXX</BICFI>
  </FinInstnId>
</DbtrAgt>

Two cases that need your input

  1. Contact “Othr” as free text. In .09 it needs a channel type, which a .03 file doesn't have. Add it in your source system, or remove that contact detail there.
  2. A remittance location without a method. Version .09 requires Mtd (for example EMAL or POST) when a remittance location is given.

A converter should report these, not guess a value or drop the data.

After converting: check the addresses

Files still on .03 usually come from older ERP setups, and their addresses are often unstructured: everything in AdrLine, with no separate town. Converting doesn't change that. The structured address rules apply to .09 files too, so check the addresses in the same step.

Convert a pain.001.001.03 file in your browser

Drop a .03 file on PacsLint and choose “Convert to .09”. It makes only the changes above, checks the new file against the official .09 schema straight away, and goes on to the address check and fixes. Your file never leaves your browser.

Convert a file

Sources