The beneficiary bank says no: an instant payment rejected in seconds
Trigger: Nordbank answers the instant payment negatively — the beneficiary account turns out to be closed.
What operations sees first: The customer sees an immediate failure message; operations sees a negative pacs.002 arriving seconds after the outbound pacs.008.
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
Reserved during the attempt and released on the reject; the debtor's balance is untouched.
DID SETTLEMENT HAPPEN?
Never occurred — the reject arrived before settlement became final.
WHO ACTS NEXT?
Nordbank (creditor agent) The debtor verifies the beneficiary's details before retrying; no return processing or recovery work is needed.
PLAY THE EXCEPTION
Trigger: Nordbank cannot apply the payment — for example the account is closed or blocked — and answers negatively in time.
The debtor initiates an instant payment
Debtor (payer) → Bank Alfa (debtor agent)
The customer pays from an app or channel. From this moment the scheme's clock is running — the whole journey must finish within the scheme's time limit.
Step 1 of 9: The debtor initiates an instant payment
- 02ProcessingBank Alfa validates in real timeBank Alfa (debtor agent)
- 03PostingThe debtor's funds are reservedBank Alfa (debtor agent)
- 06ProcessingNordbank decides — nowNordbank (creditor agent)
- 09 · EXCEPTION PATHPostingThe reservation is released and the debtor informedBank Alfa (debtor agent)
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- Never left the debtor's account.
- Settlement
- No settlement — the rejection preceded it.
- Who acts next
- Nordbank (creditor agent) — The debtor checks the beneficiary details; the reason code says what was wrong.
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
- 02ProcessingBank Alfa validates in real timeBank Alfa (debtor agent)
Format checks, balance check, and sanctions screening all happen in seconds. Anything slow here burns the scheme's time budget.
Screening checkpoint: Real-time transaction screening — Instant rails force screening to be fast and highly automated — there is no batch window to hide latency in.
- 03PostingThe debtor's funds are reservedBank Alfa (debtor agent)
Bank Alfa earmarks the amount. The final debit is confirmed only when the beneficiary bank accepts — instant payments are all-or-nothing.
- RESERVE Debtor's current account at Bank Alfa — EUR 480.00
- 06ProcessingNordbank decides — nowNordbank (creditor agent)
The creditor agent validates the account and screens the payment, then must answer positively or negatively within the scheme's window.
- 09 · EXCEPTION PATHPostingThe reservation is released and the debtor informedBank Alfa (debtor agent)
The customer sees the failure with its reason within seconds of paying.
- RELEASE Debtor's current account at Bank Alfa — EUR 480.00
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- Never left the debtor's account.
- Settlement
- No settlement — the rejection preceded it.
- Who acts next
- Nordbank (creditor agent) — The debtor checks the beneficiary details; the reason code says what was wrong.
THE TIMELINE
- 01Bank AlfaReserves funds on the debtor's account and sends the instant transfer into the CSM.pacs.008
- 02Instant CSMDelivers the transfer to Nordbank for an accept-or-reject decision within the time limit.pacs.008
- 03NordbankChecks the account before accepting and finds it closed.
In an instant scheme this check happens before settlement, not after — so the same problem that causes a settled return in classic SCT causes a pre-settlement reject here.
- 04NordbankAnswers negatively; the status report carries reason code AC04 (closed account) back through the CSM to Bank Alfa.pacs.002
- 05Bank AlfaReleases the reservation and tells the customer straight away, with the reason available.
Resolution: The payment fails before any money moves, so there is nothing to send back. Compare this with the classic SCT closed-account case, where the same AC04 arrives after settlement and needs a settled return.
Sources for this scenario2
- Scheme-specific rule2025 version 1.1 (EPC004-16)
2025 SEPA Instant Credit Transfer rulebook ↗ — European Payments Council · reject provisions
Version 1.1 replaced version 1.0 at publication on 5 October 2025 and is stated to remain in effect up to 21 November 2027. The EPC states it is compliant with Regulation (EU) 2024/886, the Instant Payments Regulation.
- Simplified educational illustration
Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal
What this simplifies: Single-CSM model; institution-specific handling varies.
Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.