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ISO 20022 reason code

AC06: Blocked account

The account is blocked. AC06 is an ISO 20022 reason code used as a status reason and a return reason: you will see it in pain.002, pacs.004 and camt.053.

AC06 at a glance
CodeAC06
NameBlocked account
ISO code listsExternalStatusReason1Code (status reason); ExternalReturnReason1Code (return reason)
WhereStsRsnInf/Rsn/Cd; RtrRsnInf/Rsn/Cd (pacs.004), TxDtls/RtrInf/Rsn/Cd (camt)

What AC06 means

The account is blocked: frozen by its bank, by a court or authority, or at the holder’s request. It cannot be debited or credited for now.

Not to be confused with: Blocked is not closed: an AC06 block can be lifted, an AC04 closure cannot. AM07 blocks an amount rather than the whole account, and AG01 refuses one type of transaction on an open account.

A reason code always comes with a status or an action: on its own it says why, not what happened. In a status report look at the status next to it (RJCT means the payment will not be executed); on a statement the returned entry tells you the money has come back.

Where AC06 appears

AC06 belongs to two of the ISO 20022 reason code lists, so it can arrive in these places:

  • Status reason (ExternalStatusReason1Code): in a payment status report (pain.002 from a bank to its customer, pacs.002 between banks) that rejects or holds a payment.
  • Return reason (ExternalReturnReason1Code): in a payment return (pacs.004) after the money has moved, and the returned entry on the account statement (camt.053) or notification (camt.054).

In a status report, AC06 explains a status such as RJCT, at transaction level here (the same StsRsnInf block can sit under the group or a payment block):

pain.002.001.10 · a rejected transaction
<OrgnlPmtInfAndSts>
  <OrgnlPmtInfId>PMT-20261028-03</OrgnlPmtInfId>
  <TxInfAndSts>
    <OrgnlEndToEndId>INV-2026-0042</OrgnlEndToEndId>
    <TxSts>RJCT</TxSts>
    <StsRsnInf>
      <Rsn>
        <Cd>AC06</Cd>
      </Rsn>
      <AddtlInf>Free text from the bank, if any</AddtlInf>
    </StsRsnInf>
  </TxInfAndSts>
</OrgnlPmtInfAndSts>

What to do about AC06

  • If you sent the payment or the collection: Contact the counterparty: the block sits with their bank, which will not tell you why. Try again only once they confirm the block is lifted.

Your bank’s implementation guide and the scheme’s rulebook (for SEPA, the EPC rulebooks) say exactly when it may use AC06; banks do not all apply a code the same way.

Look up AC06 from a script or an AI agent

Scripts and AI agents get this code’s name, definition, where it sits and the address of this page from GET /api/v1/explain, keyless, or from the explain_code tool of the MCP server (API and MCP docs; add it to Claude, Cursor or VS Code).

REST · curl
curl -s 'https://iso20022-navigator.com/api/v1/explain?code=AC06&kind=status_reason'