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ISO 20022 reason code

MD06: Refund request by end customer

The debtor asked for a refund of the direct debit. MD06 is an ISO 20022 reason code used as a status reason, a return reason and a cancellation reason: you will see it in pain.002, pacs.004, camt.053 and camt.056.

MD06 at a glance
CodeMD06
NameRefund request by end customer
ISO code listsExternalStatusReason1Code (status reason); ExternalReturnReason1Code (return reason); ExternalCancellationReason1Code (cancellation reason)
WhereStsRsnInf/Rsn/Cd; RtrRsnInf/Rsn/Cd (pacs.004), TxDtls/RtrInf/Rsn/Cd (camt); CxlRsnInf/Rsn/Cd

What MD06 means

The debtor asked their bank to refund a direct debit.

Not to be confused with: MD06 is a refund the debtor asked for; MD01 is a collection without a valid mandate. Both come back to the creditor as returns, under different SEPA Core periods: 8 weeks for a refund, 13 months for an unauthorised collection.

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 MD06 appears

MD06 belongs to three 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).
  • Cancellation reason (ExternalCancellationReason1Code): in a request to cancel or recall a payment (camt.055 from a customer, camt.056 between banks).

On the account statement, the returned amount is an entry of its own, and MD06 sits in the return information of its transaction details (pacs.004, the interbank return, carries it in TxInf/RtrRsnInf/Rsn/Cd):

camt.053.001.08 · a returned payment on the statement
<Ntry>
  <Amt Ccy="EUR">2100.00</Amt>
  <CdtDbtInd>CRDT</CdtDbtInd>
  <Sts><Cd>BOOK</Cd></Sts>
  <NtryDtls>
    <TxDtls>
      <Refs>
        <EndToEndId>INV-2026-0042</EndToEndId>
      </Refs>
      <RtrInf>
        <Rsn>
          <Cd>MD06</Cd>
        </Rsn>
      </RtrInf>
    </TxDtls>
  </NtryDtls>
</Ntry>

What to do about MD06

  • If you sent the payment or the collection: The amount is debited back from your account; the camt.053 or camt.054 shows the return with MD06. Contact the customer: a refund does not cancel what they owe you, but you may need to collect it another way.

Under the SEPA Core rulebook a debtor may ask for a refund of an authorised collection within 8 weeks of the debit date, without giving a reason. The SEPA B2B scheme has no such refund right.

Your bank’s implementation guide and the scheme’s rulebook (for SEPA, the EPC rulebooks) say exactly when it may use MD06; banks do not all apply a code the same way.

Look up MD06 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=MD06&kind=status_reason'