| Field | Meaning | Required |
|---|---|---|
:20: | A unique reference assigned by the sending bank for this statement message. It identifies the statement for tracking and duplicate detection. The customer uses | M |
:21: | The related reference linking this statement to a prior request or agreement, when the statement was sent on request. It helps the customer match the statement | O |
:25: | The account the statement covers, identified by account number with the account owner name. It tells the customer system which ledger account to reconcile. A st | M |
:28C: | The statement number and sequence number that identify this statement in a series. They let the customer detect a missing or duplicate statement. The numbers mu | M |
:60F: | The opening balance of the account for the statement period, with the credit or debit mark, value date, currency and amount. It is the closing balance of the pr | M |
:60M: | An additional opening balance when the statement covers an intraday period or a balance was corrected. It carries the same format as the first opening balance. | O |
:61: | One entry in the statement, representing a single debit or credit with value date, entry date, amount, funds code and narrative. A statement can hold many entri | O |
:86: | Supplementary details for a statement line, giving extra information such as the end to end reference or a narrative description. It can carry the beneficiary n | O |
:62F: | The closing balance of the account for the statement period, with the credit or debit mark, value date, currency and amount. It is the opening balance plus all | M |
:62M: | An additional closing balance when the statement covers an intraday period or a balance was corrected. It carries the same format as the first closing balance. | O |
:64: | A forward available balance showing funds expected to be available on a future date, with the credit or debit mark, date, currency and amount. It helps the cust | O |
:65: | A forward available balance for a later date, with the same format as the first available balance. It shows the expected balance after future dated entries are | O |
Meridian Bank sends an MT940 to a corporate customer for account 77012345 covering 5 November 2026, opening balance EUR 120,000.00, with 14 entries including a credit of EUR 48,250.00 for a supplier receipt. The closing balance is EUR 168,250.00, the control totals agree, and the customer reconciles every entry to its ledger.
Valid example from the message catalogue. Scheme rules: MT940 follows the SWIFT statement rules and remains widely used for customer account reporting, even where ISO 20022 reporting is available. Many banks still send MT940 daily because corporate reconci
Worked Example: a full MT940 with opening balance, transactions, closing balance and forward available balance, reconciled line by line
What you will learn
Your objective. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain worked example: a full MT940 with opening balance, transactions, closing balance and forward available balance, reconciled line by line. The account is a euro current account held by Meridian Foods GmbH at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, account DE89 3707 0060 0123 4567 89, statement number 142, for 2 November 2026.
Why it matters. This matters because the message is the payment instruction. A wrong field, a missing element or a misunderstood format is a failed payment, a return, or a compliance breach.
Chapter objective: Learner explains MT940 and MT950 statements, MT910 confirmations, and how opening, closing booked, closing available and forward balances are calculated. Learner uses real examples with amounts, banks and message names to show how the topic works in practice.
Key learning points
- Account: euro current account held
- Large receipt and supplier payment
- Lines match expected entries
- Three lines the running balance
- Statement: fully reconciled
- Treasurer can now release the 3 November
Key terms
Reconciliation: The process of comparing records from two sources, such as a bank statement and an internal ledger, to confirm they agree.
Value date: The date on which funds become available to the beneficiary and on which interest starts to accrue. It is the date used for settlement and for nostro posting.
pacs.008: An ISO 20022 message for a financial institution to financial institution customer credit transfer. It replaces MT103 in cross border payments and carries structured debtor, creditor, charges and...
SWIFT MT message viewer showing Worked Example: a full MT940 with opening balance, transactions, closing balance and forward available balance, reconciled line by line.
Practise this lesson
Exercise
Investigate the reconciliation break described in this lesson and find its root cause.
Use the three-way matching rule and the break categories in this lesson.
- What to do. Compare the instruction, the settlement record and the statement, name the break type, and state the corrective action.
Correct result. A break is found by matching amount, currency, date and reference across the three sources. The root cause is a timing difference, an amount difference, a missing entry, or a duplicate, and the corrective action follows the cause.
Why. Reconciliation is the last line of defence. A break that is not investigated is money that cannot be proved.
Check your understanding
Practice question
Which of the following best describes worked example: a full MT940 with opening balance, transactions, closing balance and forward available balance, reconciled line by line?
Takeaway and next step
What to remember
The treasurer can now release the 3 November payroll of EUR 500,000 with confidence, because the available and forward balances both cover it.
Open the message type from this lesson and inspect its fields, then find the field that carries the amount.
Open the ISO 20022 Message Explorer →
Builds on "Reconciling Statements: MT940, MT950 and camt.053".
Transcript and full text
Show transcript
The account is a euro current account held by Meridian Foods GmbH at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, account DE89 3707 0060 0123 4567 89, statement number 142, for 2 November 2026. Field 20 gives the statement reference STMT 2026 0142. Field 25 gives the account number. Field 28C gives 142 slash 1. Field 60a gives the opening balance, credit EUR 1,250,000 on 1 November 2026, written as F60a C 261101 EUR 1,250,000. The first reconciliation check is to confirm that EUR 1,250,000 equals the closing balance of statement 141, and in this example it does, so the statement can proceed. The opening balance is the foundation for every calculation that follows. The first two transactions are a large customer receipt and a large supplier payment. Field 61 line one shows value date 2 November 2026, credit, EUR 320,000, transaction type NTRF, reference pacs.008 DE 88412, and the Field 86 narrative reads payment from Schneider GmbH, invoice 2026 7741. Field 61 line two shows value date 2 November 2026, debit, EUR 150,000, transaction type NTRF, reference pacs.008 DE 88413, and the Field 86 narrative reads payment to Alpine Logistics AG, invoice AL 5520. After these two lines the running balance is EUR 1,250,000 plus EUR 320,000 minus EUR 150,000, which equals EUR 1,420,000 credit. Both lines match expected entries in the Meridian accounting system, so both are marked reconciled. The remaining three transactions are a second receipt, a direct debit and a bank charge. Field 61 line three shows value date 2 November 2026, credit, EUR 85,000, reference pacs.008 DE 88414, with Field 86 reading payment from Benelux Retail BV, invoice BR 9910. Field 61 line four shows value date 2 November 2026, debit, EUR 42,500, transaction type NDDT, reference DD 7731, with Field 86 reading direct debit to Rhine Energy GmbH, electricity November 2026. Field 61 line five shows value date 2 November 2026, debit, EUR 2,750, transaction type NCHG, reference CHG 2210, with Field 86 reading monthly account charges October 2026. After these three lines the running balance is EUR 1,420,000 plus EUR 85,000 minus EUR 42,500 minus EUR 2,750, which equals EUR 1,459,750 credit. Field 62a gives the closing booked balance, and the reconciliation must prove it from the transactions. The calculation is opening balance EUR 1,250,000, plus total credits EUR 405,000, which is EUR 320,000 plus EUR 85,000, minus total debits EUR 195,250, which is EUR 150,000 plus EUR 42,500 plus EUR 2,750. EUR 1,250,000 plus EUR 405,000 minus EUR 195,250 equals EUR 1,459,750 credit, and that matches Field 62a exactly, so the second reconciliation check passes. The third check is that every Field 61 line has a matching entry in the accounting system, and in this example all five lines match on reference, amount, currency and value date, so there are no breaks. The statement is fully reconciled. Field 64 and Field 65 complete the picture and drive the next day cash decision. A cheque for EUR 25,000 was deposited and booked on 2 November, but it will not clear until 4 November, so it is deducted from the booked balance to give the available balance. Field 64 is therefore EUR 1,459,750 minus EUR 25,000, which equals EUR 1,434,750 credit, the amount Meridian can spend on 2 November. Field 65 for 4 November 2026 applies a known incoming payment of EUR 200,000 from a customer and a known outgoing standing order of EUR 60,000 for rent. The calculation is EUR 1,434,750 plus EUR 200,000 minus EUR 60,000, which equals EUR 1,574,750 credit forward available on 4 November. The treasurer can now release the 3 November payroll of EUR 500,000 with confidence, because the available and forward balances both cover it.
The account is a euro current account held by Meridian Foods GmbH at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt, account DE89 3707 0060 0123 4567 89, statement number 142, for 2 November 2026. Field 20 gives the statement reference STMT 2026 0142. Field 25 gives the account number. Field 28C gives 142 slash 1. Field 60a gives the opening balance, credit EUR 1,250,000 on 1 November 2026, written as F60a C 261101 EUR 1,250,000. The first reconciliation check is to confirm that EUR 1,250,000 equals the closing balance of statement 141, and in this example it does, so the statement can proceed. The opening balance is the foundation for every calculation that follows.
The first two transactions are a large customer receipt and a large supplier payment. Field 61 line one shows value date 2 November 2026, credit, EUR 320,000, transaction type NTRF, reference pacs.008 DE 88412, and the Field 86 narrative reads payment from Schneider GmbH, invoice 2026 7741. Field 61 line two shows value date 2 November 2026, debit, EUR 150,000, transaction type NTRF, reference pacs.008 DE 88413, and the Field 86 narrative reads payment to Alpine Logistics AG, invoice AL 5520. After these two lines the running balance is EUR 1,250,000 plus EUR 320,000 minus EUR 150,000, which equals EUR 1,420,000 credit. Both lines match expected entries in the Meridian accounting system, so both are marked reconciled.
The remaining three transactions are a second receipt, a direct debit and a bank charge. Field 61 line three shows value date 2 November 2026, credit, EUR 85,000, reference pacs.008 DE 88414, with Field 86 reading payment from Benelux Retail BV, invoice BR 9910. Field 61 line four shows value date 2 November 2026, debit, EUR 42,500, transaction type NDDT, reference DD 7731, with Field 86 reading direct debit to Rhine Energy GmbH, electricity November 2026. Field 61 line five shows value date 2 November 2026, debit, EUR 2,750, transaction type NCHG, reference CHG 2210, with Field 86 reading monthly account charges October 2026. After these three lines the running balance is EUR 1,420,000 plus EUR 85,000 minus EUR 42,500 minus EUR 2,750, which equals EUR 1,459,750 credit.
Field 62a gives the closing booked balance, and the reconciliation must prove it from the transactions. The calculation is opening balance EUR 1,250,000, plus total credits EUR 405,000, which is EUR 320,000 plus EUR 85,000, minus total debits EUR 195,250, which is EUR 150,000 plus EUR 42,500 plus EUR 2,750. EUR 1,250,000 plus EUR 405,000 minus EUR 195,250 equals EUR 1,459,750 credit, and that matches Field 62a exactly, so the second reconciliation check passes. The third check is that every Field 61 line has a matching entry in the accounting system, and in this example all five lines match on reference, amount, currency and value date, so there are no breaks. The statement is fully reconciled.
Field 64 and Field 65 complete the picture and drive the next day cash decision. A cheque for EUR 25,000 was deposited and booked on 2 November, but it will not clear until 4 November, so it is deducted from the booked balance to give the available balance. Field 64 is therefore EUR 1,459,750 minus EUR 25,000, which equals EUR 1,434,750 credit, the amount Meridian can spend on 2 November. Field 65 for 4 November 2026 applies a known incoming payment of EUR 200,000 from a customer and a known outgoing standing order of EUR 60,000 for rent. The calculation is EUR 1,434,750 plus EUR 200,000 minus EUR 60,000, which equals EUR 1,574,750 credit forward available on 4 November. The treasurer can now release the 3 November payroll of EUR 500,000 with confidence, because the available and forward balances both cover it.
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