Malaysia account holders: new regulatory requirement for Payment Reference Numbers

Last updated: 3 July 2019

Effective 17 August 2019, all Direct Debit (ACH Debit) instructions in Malaysia that are submitted on-screen in HSBCnet or via File Upload (in XMLv2, iFile or HUB MRI file formats) must include a valid Payment Reference Number (PRN). In compliance with local Malaysian regulations, the PRN is verified against the payer bank’s database before the transaction can be completed.

To comply with this local regulation, we’re updating how you include your PRN in your HSBCnet ACH Debit instructions. Any ACH Debit transactions that don’t include a valid PRN in the correct fields will be rejected as of 17 August 2019.

What’s a Payment Reference Number?

A Payment Reference Number (PRN) is a unique identifier (also known as mandate identifier), determined by your organisation, for your payers to use in their Direct Debit Authorisation (DDA) forms.

What this means for you

From 17 August, the field where you enter a PRN in your payment instructions will change. To avoid payment rejections due to a missing PRN in the correct fields, make sure that you update your payments by 17 August.

Payments submitted on-screen in HSBCnet:

ACH Debit fields for payments from Malaysian accounts will be changing on 17 August as follows:

Field name	How you currently use the field	How to use the field from 17 August
Second Party ID	Mandatory: PRN	Mandatory: Unique transaction identifier for the payer of your ACH Debit instructions (e.g. national identity number/mobile number).
Mandate number	Optional: Unique transaction identifier for the payer of your ACH Debit instructions.	Mandatory: PRN (supports up to 20 characters)
Second Party name	Mandatory: Payer’s name.	No change
Reference	Optional: You can include a reference to help you identify the transaction in your statements. This information isn’t sent to the payer’s bank.	No change

Here's where to include the PRN on-screen in HSBCnet:

(select image to enlarge)

There are no changes to other payment fields on ACH Debit screens.

Payments submitted via File Upload:

If you’re submitting ACH Debit instructions for Malaysian accounts in XMLv2, iFile or HUB MRI formats, make sure that you update the PRN in your payment files by 17 August 2019. The location where you currently provide your PRN will become the field where you can include a unique transaction identifier.

The following table shows the new field positions for inputting your PRN:

ACH Debit payments via File Upload
iFile
SECPTY -"@LVP@"- Field 23 First Party Reference	20 characters maximum for PRN Example: 1234567A01
HUB MRI
Second party information - Field 14, position 110-129	20 characters maximum for PRN Example: 1234567A01
XML v2.0
Mandate Related Information	20 characters maximum for PRN Example: 1234567A01
<MndtRltdInf>
<MndtId>

For complete file formatting details, contact your HSBC Client Services representative to request a Message Implementation Guide (MIG).

Find out more

If you have any questions, please contact your local HSBCnet Support Centre.