Payment reference (maksājuma mērķis)

The payment reference (maksājuma mērķis) is the information in a payment order that tells the payee what the payment is for, such as an invoice number. In a SEPA euro transfer the field must allow at least 140 characters, and banks pass it to the payee in full and unaltered.

Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 calls this field the remittance information. Because banks may not shorten or change it, it is what lets the payee match incoming money to the invoice issued; without the number, the payment has to be traced by amount and name.

The seller can say what to write: a Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 e-invoice has a PaymentID field in its payment details, which the buyer's system can carry over into the payment.