EDIFACT message guide · Finance

CREMUL Multiple credit advice

The UN/EDIFACT message a bank uses to advise an account owner, or an agreed third party, of several credits to its accounts.

Sent by
Account-servicing bank
Received by
Account owner or agreed third party
Standard
UN/EDIFACT · Batch message
X12 equivalent
No direct equivalent

What is the EDIFACT CREMUL message?

CREMUL is the UN/EDIFACT multiple credit advice. The directory defines it as a message sent by an account-servicing financial institution to the account owner, or to a third party agreed bilaterally in advance, that its accounts have been or will be credited for specified amounts on the dates indicated, in settlement of the referenced business transactions.

Companies that receive many payments, such as utilities or insurers, use CREMUL to receive all incoming credits for a period in one message, with each payer's references for matching.

How the EDIFACT CREMUL message worksDiagram of the UN/EDIFACT CREMUL Multiple credit advice message. Account-servicing bank sends it to account owner or agreed third party. It usually starts the exchange. Inside the UNB and UNH envelopes, the directory D.21A requires, in the start of message: BGM (Beginning of message) and body and segment groups: the required SG4 loop with LIN (Line item), MOA (Monetary amount), the required SG5 loop with RFF (Reference), the required SG6 loop with FII (Financial institution information) and the required SG10 loop with SEQ (Sequence details), FII (Financial institution information) and the required SG13 loop with MOA (Monetary amount). 12 conditional segment groups are listed by their trigger segment.How the EDIFACT CREMUL message worksMultiple credit advice: who sends it, where it fits and what the directory marks mandatory1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSStarts the exchangeCREMULSENDERAccount-servicingbankRECEIVERAccount owner oragreed third partyCONTRL syntax report back, if agreedUSUALLY FOLLOWED BYNo business reply expected2 WHAT DIRECTORY D.21A REQUIRESInterchange: sender and recipient IDsUNB … UNZMessage CREMULUNH … UNTSTART OF MESSAGEBGMBeginning of messageBODY AND SEGMENT GROUPSMandatory group SG4 · repeats up to 9,999LINLine itemMOAMonetary amountMandatory group SG5 · repeats up to 3RFFReferenceMandatory group SG6 · repeats up to 1FIIFinancial institution informationMandatory group SG10 · repeats many timesSEQSequence detailsFIIFinancial institution informationMandatory group SG13 · repeats up to 4MOAMonetary amount+ 12 conditional groups, starting with:RFFFIINADFCAPAIINPGEIPRCAUTBlue box: mandatory segment group. Conditional groups are listed by the trigger segment that starts them; a group is sent only when its data applies.Conditional segments outside groups are not drawn.Structure: mandatory segments and groups in the UN/EDIFACT directory D.21A listing for CREMUL. Your trading partner's implementation guide adds itsown requirements.
How the EDIFACT CREMUL message worksDiagram of the UN/EDIFACT CREMUL Multiple credit advice message. Account-servicing bank sends it to account owner or agreed third party. It usually starts the exchange. Inside the UNB and UNH envelopes, the directory D.21A requires, in the start of message: BGM (Beginning of message) and body and segment groups: the required SG4 loop with LIN (Line item), MOA (Monetary amount), the required SG5 loop with RFF (Reference), the required SG6 loop with FII (Financial institution information) and the required SG10 loop with SEQ (Sequence details), FII (Financial institution information) and the required SG13 loop with MOA (Monetary amount). 12 conditional segment groups are listed by their trigger segment.How the EDIFACT CREMULmessage worksMultiple credit advice: who sends it, where itfits and what the directory marks mandatory1 WHERE IT FITSUSUALLY FOLLOWSStarts the exchangeCREMULSENDERAccount-servicing bankRECEIVERAccount owneror agreed thirdpartyCONTRL syntax report back, if agreedUSUALLY FOLLOWED BYNo business reply expected2 WHAT DIRECTORY D.21A REQUIRESInterchange: sender and recipient IDs(UNB … UNZ)Message CREMUL (UNH … UNT)START OF MESSAGEBGMBeginning of messageBODY AND SEGMENT GROUPSMandatory group SG4 · repeats upto 9,999LINLine itemMOAMonetary amountMandatory group SG5 · repeatsup to 3RFFReferenceMandatory group SG6 · repeatsup to 1FIIFinancial institutioninformationMandatory group SG10 · repeatsmany timesSEQSequence detailsFIIFinancial institutioninformationMandatory group SG13 ·repeats up to 4MOAMonetary amount+ 12 conditional groups, starting with:RFFFIINADFCAPAIINPGEIPRCAUTBlue box: mandatory segment group. Conditionalgroups are listed by the trigger segment thatstarts them; a group is sent only when its dataapplies. Conditional segments outside groups arenot drawn.Structure: mandatory segments and groups in theUN/EDIFACT directory D.21A listing for CREMUL.Your trading partner's implementation guide adds itsown requirements.

How to read this diagram: the top row shows who sends CREMUL, to whom, and which messages usually come before and after it. The lower part shows what the directory D.21A itself requires: the envelopes around CREMUL and the segments and segment groups it marks mandatory. Conditional groups are listed by their trigger segment rather than drawn in full. This is the directory's minimum, not a trading partner's requirement: a message implementation guide, such as an industry subset or a partner’s own guide, usually makes some conditional groups mandatory, restricts the codes and may use an older directory.

Expand diagram Download SVG

When it is used

  • Receiving all incoming payments for a day in one message
  • Reporting credits to several accounts together
  • Feeding high-volume cash application

Where it fits in the message flow

This message CREMUL Multiple credit advice

No other message routinely comes directly before or after CREMUL; it is exchanged when the business event occurs. If the partners agree, the receiver confirms each interchange with a CONTRL syntax and service report.

Structure

Mandatory segments in CREMUL (directory D.21A)

In UN/EDIFACT directory D.21A, the CREMUL message has 96 segment positions arranged in 28 segment groups. These are the segments and segment groups marked mandatory at message level, in order; a mandatory group is shown with the segment that starts it. Segments inside conditional groups are needed only when the group is used. This is the directory’s requirement, not your trading partner’s: each partner’s message implementation guide names the directory it uses, often an older one such as D.96A or D.01B where the structure can differ, makes some conditional segments mandatory and restricts the codes.

  • UNH
  • BGM
  • SG4 (LIN)
  • UNT

Practical example

CREMUL in practice

An insurance company collects thousands of premium payments by bank transfer each day. Its bank sends a CREMUL each morning listing every credit received the previous day, with the amount, payer and policy reference. The insurer's collection system matches the credits to policies and flags payments it cannot identify.

Implementation

Implementation considerations for CREMUL

  • Plan for high volumes and large messages.
  • Map payer references to customer or policy numbers.
  • Reconcile totals with the account statement.
  • Handle unidentified payments in a dedicated queue.

Need help with CREMUL?

ECOM maps, tests and monitors EDIFACT messages for your trading partners and integrates them with your ERP.