| Field | Meaning | Required |
|---|---|---|
:20: | A unique reference assigned by the sending bank to identify this payment through its whole life. It must not repeat for the same sender within the same business | M |
:23B: | A four character code that tells the receiving bank how to handle the transfer. CRED means a normal credit transfer, SPAY means a SWIFT payment, SSTD means a st | M |
:32A: | The value date on which funds become available to the beneficiary, the three letter ISO currency code and the amount to be paid. For USD 25,000 on 5 November 20 | M |
:33B: | The currency and amount in which the ordering customer instructed the payment, when that differs from the settlement currency in field 32A. It preserves the ori | O |
:50a: | The customer who ordered the payment, identified by account number and name and address. Option K gives account, name and address in free text. Option F gives s | M |
:52a: | The financial institution that ordered the transfer when it is not the sender of the message. It is normally the bank holding the ordering customer account in a | O |
:53a: | The account held by the sender with the receiver, or the correspondent bank through which settlement will occur. It tells the receiving bank where to debit the | O |
:54a: | The account held by the receiver with another bank, used when the receiver does not hold the sender account directly. It identifies the next bank in the settlem | O |
:57a: | The bank where the beneficiary holds an account, when it is not the receiver of the MT103. It directs the receiving bank to forward the payment to the correct a | O |
:59a: | The final recipient of the funds, identified by account number and name and address. Option A gives the account and BIC, option F gives structured name and addr | M |
:70: | Free text information for the beneficiary explaining what the payment is for, such as an invoice number, contract reference or salary month. It is limited to fo | O |
:71A: | A three letter code stating who pays the transfer charges. OUR means the ordering customer pays all charges, BEN means the beneficiary pays all charges, and SHA | M |
Meridian Bank London sends an MT103, reference MER1035521, for USD 25,000 value 5 November 2024 to Harbour Bank Singapore to pay Bright Logistics for invoice INV-1187. This is a pre-migration example, from before coexistence ended on 22 November 2025. Field :71A: is SHA, the beneficiary account is given in :59a:, and the payment settles on the value date.
Valid example from the message catalogue. Scheme rules: MT103 is a SWIFT MT (FIN) message, not a base ISO 20022 message: there is no single global scheme rulebook, and each bank and market practice sets its own format limits and cut-off times on top of the
SWIFT Message Types, Groups and Categories
What you will learn
Your objective. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain SWIFT message types, groups and categories. SWIFT message types are three digit numbers, and the first digit is the category.
Why it matters. Category 1 is the most familiar to payment operations teams.
Chapter objective: Learner explains SWIFT fundamentals, SWIFTNet, message categories and types, BIC structure under ISO 9362, and the mandatory fields of an MT103. Learner uses real examples with amounts, banks and message names to show how the topic works in practice.
Key learning points
- SWIFT message types
- Full message type
- Bank that moves 10,000,000 dollars
- Messages: less common in modern
- Category 6
- Category 8 covers travellers cheques
Key terms
Nostro reconciliation: Reconciliation of a bank nostro account against the statement received from the correspondent bank. Operations teams match each nostro entry to a statement entry, investigate breaks, and confirm the...
Documentary credit: A letter of credit, a bank undertaking to pay a seller when the seller presents documents that comply with the credit terms.
Reconciliation: The process of comparing records from two sources, such as a bank statement and an internal ledger, to confirm they agree.
SWIFT MT message viewer showing SWIFT Message Types, Groups and Categories.
Practise this lesson
Exercise
Read the MT103 or message described in this lesson and identify its key parts.
Use the message structure, fields and example in this lesson.
- What to do. List the main blocks of the message, name the field that carries the amount, and name the field that identifies the payment.
Correct result. The message is made of blocks, each carrying a part of the payment instruction. The amount field and the identification field are the two a receiving bank checks first, because without them it cannot process or reconcile the payment.
Why. A message is only useful if you can read it. The blocks tell the receiving bank what to do, and the amount and identification fields are what it checks first.
Check your understanding
Practice question
Which of the following best describes SWIFT message types, groups and categories?
Takeaway and next step
What to remember
MT900 confirms a debit, MT910 confirms a credit, MT942 reports interim transactions, and MT950 is the end of day statement that every nostro reconciliation team reads each morning.
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 "SWIFTNet: How Banks Connect".
Transcript and full text
Show transcript
SWIFT message types are three digit numbers, and the first digit is the category. Category 1 covers customer payments and cheques, category 2 covers financial institution transfers, category 3 covers treasury markets for foreign exchange and money markets, category 4 covers collections and cash letters, category 5 covers securities markets, category 6 covers treasury markets for precious metals and syndications, category 7 covers documentary credits and guarantees, category 8 covers travellers cheques, and category 9 covers cash management and customer status. The full message type is written as MT followed by the three digits, such as MT103 or MT202. Category 1 is the most familiar to payment operations teams. MT103 is the single customer credit transfer, used when a bank instructs another bank to pay a customer, such as a payment of 367,574.90 dollars from BNP Paribas to Banco Santander. MT110 is an advice of cheque, and MT111 is a request to stop payment of a cheque. Category 2 covers transfers between banks themselves. MT202 is a general financial institution transfer, used when one bank moves its own funds to another bank, and MT205 is a financial institution transfer executed by a third party. A bank that moves 10,000,000 dollars of its own liquidity from London to New York will use an MT202, not an MT103. Category 3 covers treasury markets, including foreign exchange, money markets and derivatives. MT300 confirms a foreign exchange contract, such as a purchase of 5,000,000 euros against dollars at an agreed rate, while MT320 confirms a fixed loan or deposit, such as a 20,000,000 dollar deposit for 90 days. Category 4 covers collections and cash letters. MT400 is an advice of payment for a collection, and MT410 is an acknowledgement of a collection. These messages are less common in modern instant payment work, but they still appear in trade finance and in cheque clearing in some markets. Category 5 covers securities markets, and it is the largest category by message count in many banks. MT502 is an order to buy or sell securities, MT515 is a client confirmation of a purchase or sale, MT540 is a receive free instruction, and MT541 is a receive against payment instruction. A fund manager in Paris who buys 100,000 shares through a custodian in Luxembourg will see MT502, MT515 and MT541 messages as the trade is ordered, confirmed and settled. Category 6 covers precious metals and syndicated loans. MT600 confirms a precious metals trade, and MT601 confirms a metals option, while syndicated loan messages support lending by a group of banks. Category 7 covers documentary credits and guarantees, the core of traditional trade finance. MT700 issues a documentary credit, MT707 amends it, MT710 advises a third bank documentary credit, and MT760 issues a guarantee or standby letter of credit. A shipment of machinery worth 2,000,000 dollars from Germany to Brazil may be supported by an MT700 issued by a German bank and advised by a Brazilian bank. Category 8 covers travellers cheques, with MT800 for a travellers cheque and MT810 for a refund, and it is now rarely used. Category 9 covers cash management and customer status. MT900 confirms a debit, MT910 confirms a credit, MT942 reports interim transactions, and MT950 is the end of day statement that every nostro reconciliation team reads each morning.
SWIFT message types are three digit numbers, and the first digit is the category. Category 1 covers customer payments and cheques, category 2 covers financial institution transfers, category 3 covers treasury markets for foreign exchange and money markets, category 4 covers collections and cash letters, category 5 covers securities markets, category 6 covers treasury markets for precious metals and syndications, category 7 covers documentary credits and guarantees, category 8 covers travellers cheques, and category 9 covers cash management and customer status. The full message type is written as MT followed by the three digits, such as MT103 or MT202.
Category 1 is the most familiar to payment operations teams. MT103 is the single customer credit transfer, used when a bank instructs another bank to pay a customer, such as a payment of 367,574.90 dollars from BNP Paribas to Banco Santander. MT110 is an advice of cheque, and MT111 is a request to stop payment of a cheque. Category 2 covers transfers between banks themselves. MT202 is a general financial institution transfer, used when one bank moves its own funds to another bank, and MT205 is a financial institution transfer executed by a third party. A bank that moves 10,000,000 dollars of its own liquidity from London to New York will use an MT202, not an MT103.
Category 3 covers treasury markets, including foreign exchange, money markets and derivatives. MT300 confirms a foreign exchange contract, such as a purchase of 5,000,000 euros against dollars at an agreed rate, while MT320 confirms a fixed loan or deposit, such as a 20,000,000 dollar deposit for 90 days. Category 4 covers collections and cash letters. MT400 is an advice of payment for a collection, and MT410 is an acknowledgement of a collection. These messages are less common in modern instant payment work, but they still appear in trade finance and in cheque clearing in some markets.
Category 5 covers securities markets, and it is the largest category by message count in many banks. MT502 is an order to buy or sell securities, MT515 is a client confirmation of a purchase or sale, MT540 is a receive free instruction, and MT541 is a receive against payment instruction. A fund manager in Paris who buys 100,000 shares through a custodian in Luxembourg will see MT502, MT515 and MT541 messages as the trade is ordered, confirmed and settled. Category 6 covers precious metals and syndicated loans. MT600 confirms a precious metals trade, and MT601 confirms a metals option, while syndicated loan messages support lending by a group of banks.
Category 7 covers documentary credits and guarantees, the core of traditional trade finance. MT700 issues a documentary credit, MT707 amends it, MT710 advises a third bank documentary credit, and MT760 issues a guarantee or standby letter of credit. A shipment of machinery worth 2,000,000 dollars from Germany to Brazil may be supported by an MT700 issued by a German bank and advised by a Brazilian bank. Category 8 covers travellers cheques, with MT800 for a travellers cheque and MT810 for a refund, and it is now rarely used. Category 9 covers cash management and customer status. MT900 confirms a debit, MT910 confirms a credit, MT942 reports interim transactions, and MT950 is the end of day statement that every nostro reconciliation team reads each morning.
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