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ISO 20022 reason code

BE05: Unrecognised initiating party

The initiating party is not known or not authorised. BE05 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.

BE05 at a glance
CodeBE05
NameUnrecognised initiating party
ISO code listsExternalStatusReason1Code (status reason); ExternalReturnReason1Code (return reason)
WhereStsRsnInf/Rsn/Cd; RtrRsnInf/Rsn/Cd (pacs.004), TxDtls/RtrInf/Rsn/Cd (camt)

What BE05 means

The party that initiated the message is not recognised or not authorised. In SEPA direct debits it is the code used when the creditor identifier is wrong.

Not to be confused with: BE05 is about who sent the message (the initiating party, and in SEPA direct debits the creditor identifier); BE01 and BE06 are about the payer or the payee.

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 BE05 appears

BE05 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, BE05 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>BE05</Cd>
      </Rsn>
      <AddtlInf>Free text from the bank, if any</AddtlInf>
    </StsRsnInf>
  </TxInfAndSts>
</OrgnlPmtInfAndSts>

What to do about BE05

  • If you sent the payment or the collection: Check InitgPty in the group header and, for direct debits, the creditor scheme identifier (CdtrSchmeId) against what your bank registered for you.

Your bank’s implementation guide and the scheme’s rulebook (for SEPA, the EPC rulebooks) say exactly when it may use BE05; banks do not all apply a code the same way.

Look up BE05 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=BE05&kind=status_reason'