EPC rulebook validation of SEPA messages

The EPC publishes various documents related to SEPA, including a data model reference, rulebooks, and implementation guides for both credit transfers and direct debits.

The SEPA data model describes how three layers are recognized:
  • A business process layer.
  • A logical data layer to define the datasets and their attributes.
  • The physical layer which specifies the actual document formats and messages.

The rulebooks contain the business requirements and rules for the operation of the SEPA schemes.

The implementation guides contain detailed specifications on the physical layer of the data model, and thus define SEPA-specific validation that is applied to ISO 20022 (UNIFI) messages to ensure compliance with the SEPA.

The SEPA component of the Pack for Financial Payments includes maps to apply these validation rules to the various ISO 20022 SEPA messages so that customers can validate their messages to ensure compliance. These messages are listed in the Credit Transfer messages and in the Direct debit messages.

The maps provide a check-digit validation of the following fields:

  • IBAN
  • Identification of the Creditor (AT-02) - direct debit only
They also conduct validation checks against XML lookup files to verify the following items:
  • Bank Identification Code (BIC)
  • Currency codes
  • Country codes