When you send a payment abroad via Catacloud, you may in some cases see the fields "Payment Purpose Code" and "Purpose of Payment". Here we explain what these are and what you should enter.
Why is this required?
Norway has a register of foreign exchange movements — the Foreign Exchange Register (Valutaregisteret) — administered by the Norwegian Tax Authority. All cross-border payments exceeding NOK 100,000 must be reported to the authorities. The purpose is to prevent crime and ensure correct tax and duty payments.
The bank reports this automatically on your behalf, but you must provide the correct code and a brief description of what the payment relates to — otherwise the payment will be rejected.
Which code should you choose?
Choose the code that best describes what the payment relates to. The most common for Norwegian businesses are 14 (purchase of goods), 29 (services), and 81 (salary to employees abroad).
Show all codes
Show all codes
Code | Payment type |
Goods | Goods |
14 | Purchase/sale of goods |
Services | Services |
26 | Rental |
29 | Other purchase/sale of services |
Interest, dividends and other capital | Interest, dividends and other capital |
31 | Interest |
35 | Dividends |
38 | Other return on capital |
Capital transactions | Capital transactions |
41 | Purchase/sale of real estate and capitalised rights abroad |
43 | Direct investments in shares etc. |
45 | Direct investments in other capital |
51 | Portfolio investment in shares and mutual fund units |
52 | Portfolio investment in bonds and certificates |
53 | Portfolio investment in derivatives |
71 | Life insurance / pension |
79 | Other financial investments |
Other transfers | Other transfers |
81 | Salary |
82 | Inheritance, gift, etc. |
What should you write in "Purpose of Payment"?
Write a short free-text description of what the payment relates to. Some examples:
"Payment for goods purchase, invoice 12345"
"Consulting fee, agreement June 2025"
"Salary employee, July 2025"
The description doesn't need to be long, but it should make clear what the transaction relates to.
What happens if I choose the wrong code?
The payment may be stopped or rejected by the bank. If you choose the wrong code but the payment goes through, it could in the worst case trigger enquiries from the Norwegian Tax Authority. Unsure? Contact us or your accountant.
Note: These fields only appear for payments going abroad (non-Norwegian IBAN) and where the amount exceeds the threshold. Domestic payments are not affected.