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This guide walks you through creating a SEPA credit transfer XML file from scratch.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:
  • Node.js installed (v14 or higher recommended)
  • A JavaScript or TypeScript project set up
  • Sepa JS XML installed (see Installation)

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Generate a credit transfer XML

Follow these steps to create your first SEPA credit transfer XML file:
1

Import the library

Start by importing the createSepaXML function from the package:
import { createSepaXML, type SepaData } from 'sepa-js-xml';
2

Prepare your payment data

Create a data object with your payment information. Here’s a complete example:
const paymentData: SepaData = {
  id: "MSG-001",
  creationDate: new Date(),
  initiatorName: "Your Company Name",
  positions: [
    {
      id: "BATCH-001",
      name: "Your Company Name",
      iban: "DE89370400440532013000",
      bic: "COBADEFFXXX",
      requestedExecutionDate: new Date(),
      payments: [
        {
          id: "PAYMENT-001",
          name: "John Doe",
          iban: "DE89370400440532013001",
          bic: "COBADEFFXXX",
          amount: 150.50,
          remittanceInformation: "Invoice #12345",
          end2endReference: "INV-12345"
        },
        {
          id: "PAYMENT-002",
          name: "Jane Smith",
          iban: "DE89370400440532013002",
          bic: "COBADEFFXXX",
          amount: 250.00,
          remittanceInformation: "Invoice #12346",
          end2endReference: "INV-12346"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
};
The IBANs and BICs in this example are for demonstration only. Replace them with valid account details before generating production files.
3

Generate the XML

Call the createSepaXML function with your payment data:
const xml = createSepaXML(paymentData);

console.log(xml);
For better readability during development, you can enable pretty printing:
const xml = createSepaXML(paymentData, {
  prettyPrint: true,
  checkIBAN: true,
  checkBIC: true
});
4

Save the XML file

Write the generated XML to a file:
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';

writeFileSync('sepa-payment.xml', xml, 'utf-8');
console.log('SEPA XML file generated successfully!');

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Complete example

Here’s a complete working example that generates a SEPA credit transfer XML file: 
import { createSepaXML, type SepaData } from 'sepa-js-xml';
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';

const paymentData: SepaData = {
  id: "MSG-001",
  creationDate: new Date(),
  initiatorName: "Your Company Name",
  positions: [
    {
      id: "BATCH-001",
      name: "Your Company Name",
      iban: "DE89370400440532013000",
      bic: "COBADEFFXXX",
      requestedExecutionDate: new Date(),
      payments: [
        {
          id: "PAYMENT-001",
          name: "John Doe",
          iban: "DE89370400440532013001",
          bic: "COBADEFFXXX",
          amount: 150.50,
          remittanceInformation: "Invoice #12345",
          end2endReference: "INV-12345"
        },
        {
          id: "PAYMENT-002",
          name: "Jane Smith",
          iban: "DE89370400440532013002",
          bic: "COBADEFFXXX",
          amount: 250.00,
          remittanceInformation: "Invoice #12346",
          end2endReference: "INV-12346"
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
};

try {
  const xml = createSepaXML(paymentData, {
    prettyPrint: true,
    checkIBAN: true,
    checkBIC: true
  });
  
  writeFileSync('sepa-payment.xml', xml, 'utf-8');
  console.log('SEPA XML file generated successfully!');
} catch (error) {
  console.error('Error generating SEPA XML:', error.message);
}

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Configuration options

You can customize the XML generation with these options:
OptionTypeDefaultDescription
prettyPrintbooleanfalseFormat the XML with indentation for readability
checkIBANbooleantrueValidate IBAN codes using ibantools
checkBICbooleantrueValidate BIC codes using ibantools
const xml = createSepaXML(paymentData, {
  prettyPrint: true,    // Enable formatted output
  checkIBAN: true,      // Validate IBANs (recommended)
  checkBIC: true        // Validate BICs (recommended)
});
It’s recommended to keep IBAN and BIC validation enabled in production to catch invalid account details before submitting payments to your bank.

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Understanding the data structure

The SepaData interface has three main levels:

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1. Message level (SepaData)

{
  id: "MSG-001",                     // Message ID (max 35 chars)
  creationDate: new Date(),          // When the message was created
  initiatorName: "Your Company",     // Your company name (max 70 chars)
  painVersion: "pain.001.001.03",    // Optional: PAIN format version
  positions: [...]                    // Array of creditor positions
}

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2. Position level (CreditorPayments)

{
  id: "BATCH-001",                   // Position ID (max 35 chars)
  name: "Your Company Name",         // Debtor name (max 70 chars)
  iban: "DE89370400440532013000",    // Debtor IBAN
  bic: "COBADEFFXXX",                // Debtor BIC (optional in some versions)
  requestedExecutionDate: new Date(), // When to execute the payment
  batchBooking: true,                 // Optional: batch booking flag
  payments: [...]                     // Array of individual payments
}

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3. Payment level (Payment)

{
  id: "PAYMENT-001",                 // Payment ID (max 35 chars)
  name: "John Doe",                  // Creditor name (max 70 chars)
  iban: "DE89370400440532013001",    // Creditor IBAN
  bic: "COBADEFFXXX",                // Creditor BIC (optional in some versions)
  amount: 150.50,                     // Amount in EUR
  currency: "EUR",                    // Optional: defaults to EUR
  remittanceInformation: "Invoice #12345", // Payment reference
  end2endReference: "INV-12345"      // End-to-end reference (required in pain.001.001.03)
}

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Validation and error handling

The library performs automatic validation and throws errors if:
  • The id or initiatorName exceeds the maximum length
  • IBAN or BIC codes are invalid (when validation is enabled)
  • Required fields are missing for specific PAIN versions
Always wrap createSepaXML calls in a try-catch block: 
try {
  const xml = createSepaXML(paymentData);
} catch (error) {
  if (error.message.includes('Max length')) {
    console.error('Field length validation failed:', error.message);
  } else if (error.message.includes('not valid')) {
    console.error('IBAN/BIC validation failed:', error.message);
  } else {
    console.error('Unexpected error:', error.message);
  }
}

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Next steps

Now that you’ve generated your first SEPA XML file, explore more advanced features:

API Reference

View detailed API documentation and type signatures

Direct Debits

Learn how to create SEPA direct debit XML files

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