3803398 - Germany: SEPA Credit Transfer Format pain.001.001.03 Expiring November 2026 – How to Switch to pain.001.001.09 via XML Payment Flexibility in SAP Business ByDesign

The SEPA Credit Transfer payment format pain.001.001.03 (Payment Medium Format Code 74 – SEPA Credit Transfer), currently maintained under Bank Master Data, will no longer be accepted by bank portals as of November 2026.

Customers need to transition to the new format pain.001.001.09 to ensure continued payment processing starting 15th November 2026.

SAP Business ByDesign

The European Payments Council (EPC) has mandated that the older SEPA XML format pain.001.001.03 be replaced by the newer pain.001.001.09 with effect from 15 November 2026.

As part of this change, unstructured address formats may also no longer be accepted. Banks and house bank portals will reject payment files that do not conform to the updated standard. 

The required format pain.001.001.09 has been made available in SAP Business ByDesign via the XML Payment Flexibility feature.

For general setup instructions, refer to Help Article: Generation of Custom Payment File Using XSL Transformation Repository | SAP Help Portal 

Prerequisites: XML Payment Flexibility must be activated in your system scope before proceeding. Verify this under your solution configuration.

Step 1 – Confirm the Transformation is Available

Navigate to:

Work Center: Application and User Management → Business Flexibility View: Common Master Data Configuration

Set the following filter:

Confirm that the following transformation is listed:

Step 2 – Update the Payment Format on the Bank Account

Navigate to:

Work Center: Liquidity Management (or Cash and Liquidity Management) View: Bank Accounts

Locate the relevant bank account. Example used in this article:

Open the bank account and go to the Payment Formats tab.

Remove the existing entry:

Add the new entry:

Save your changes.

Additional Information

• The deadline set by the EPC is 15 November 2026. Customers are advised to complete this configuration change well in advance to allow sufficient time for testing with their house banks.
• This procedure applies to all bank accounts in the system where Payment Medium Format Code 74 – SEPA Credit Transfer is currently maintained for outgoing SEPA Credit Transfers in Germany.
• For SEPA Direct Debits, a separate transition to pain.008.001.08 may apply. Please refer to the corresponding KBA or SAP Note once available.

KBAs: 

3455390 - ISO20022 pain.001.001.09 XML-based Message Format Is Missing for Netherlands
3538724 - Austria SEPA Payment Files

KBA , AP-PAY , Payment Processing , Problem