SWIFT Message Types – Know Your MTs from your MXs… 24

The recent SWIFT related posts have been pretty popular, and many of you have contacted me asking for more detailed information about SWIFT message types. To get the full lowdown on SWIFT message types, you need to read SWIFT’s very own Standards Inventory Of Messages. Its 47 pages worth of SWIFT message types, nice bedtime reading!! To save you the pain, I have read (learnt a bit too) and provided an overview of the main message types below. Unless you like talking about SWIFT message types, you don’t need to know most of these. But it is useful to know they exist and if you ever needed there are a range of messages out there. I have referenced some of the important ones from a payments perspective.

If you need more information, refer to the Standards Inventory of Messages… 😉

MT – SWIFT Message Types:

  • Category 1 – Messages starting MT1xx –  Customer Payments & Cheques
    • This is the most popular category for corporates making payments containing the:
      • MT101 – Request for Transfer
  • Category 2 – Messages starting MT2xx – Financial Institution Transfers
  • Category 3 – Messages starting MT3xx – Treasury Markets, to handle Foreign Exchange, Money Markets and Derivatives
  • Category 4 – Messages starting MT4xx – Collection & Cash Letters
  • Category 5 – Messages starting MT5xx – Securities Markets
  • Category 6 – Messages MT600 – MT609 – Treasury Markets – Previous Metals
  • Category 6 – Messages MT643 – MT649 – Treasury Markets – Syndications
  • Category 7 – Messages starting MT7xx – Documentary Credits & Guarantees
  • Category 8 – Messages starting MT8xx – Travellers Cheques
  • Category 9 – Messages starting MT9xx – Cash Management & Customer Status
    • The most important messages for most corporates would be the:
      • MT900 – Confirmation of Debit
      • MT940 – Customer Statement Message
      • MT942 – Interim Transaction Report
  • Category n – Common Messages found across the above Categories
    • MTn90 – Advice of Charges, Interest and other Adjustments
    • MTn91 – Request for Payment of Charges, Interest and other Expenses
    • MTn92 – Request for Cancellation
    • MTn95 – Queries
    • MTn96 – Answers
    • MTn98 – Proprietary message – messages defined and exchanged between users
    • MTn99 – Free format message – often used by banks to send details of payments in error
      • MT199 is often sent by the banks to corporates indicating why a payment has failed

MX – SWIFT Message Types:

For full details, refer to the SWIFT’s Standards MX General Information

An MX message consists of 4 parts –  ssss.eee.ppp.aa – where:

  • 4 alpha characters – ssss – identifying the Message Type
  • 3 alphanumeric characters – eee – identifying the Message Number
  • 3 numeric characters – ppp – highlighting the Message Variant
  • 2 numeric characters – aa – denoting the Version Number

As SEPA experts (hehehehe…!) you will be very familiar with SEPA Credit Transfer pain.001.001.03

For our purposes, the most important thing to know (for now) is the Message Type. After that you will need to work with your banking partners to understand the most appropriate Message Number / Variant & Version….

Message Types:

  • ACMT – Account Management
    • For example:
      • acmt.001.001.02 – Account Opening Instruction version 2
      • acmt.002.001.02 – Account Details Confirmation version 2
  • ADMI- Administration
  • CAMT – Cash Management
    • For example:
      • camt.053.001.01 – Bank to Customer Statement version 1
  • DEFP – Derivatives
  • PACS – Payments Clearing & Settlement
  • PAIN – Payments Initiation
    • As mentioned above, through SEPA you will be very familiar with:
      • pain.001.001.03 – Customer Credit Transfer Initiation
      • pain.002.001.02 – Payment Status Report – sometimes also called a PSR
      • pain.008.001.02 – Customer Direct Debit Initiation
  • REDA – Reference Data
  • SEEV – Securities Events
  • SEMT – Securities Management
  • SESE – Securities Settlement
  • SETR – Securities Trade
  • TREA – Treasury
  • TSMT – Trade Services Management

 

Hope that has given you an insight into the different SWIFT message types, and an understanding of the various available messages. If it has helped you, kindly SHARE IT….

 

Kindly TWEET or share this post via LinkedIn- Thank You…!!

 

24 thoughts on “SWIFT Message Types – Know Your MTs from your MXs…

  1. Pingback: The Structure Of A SWIFT Message, Explained!

  2. Pingback: The Difference between a SWIFT ACK and SWIFT NACK

  3. Reply Ronald May 16,2016 3:56 pm

    Thanks for the information. I am unable to access the document – Standards Inventory of Messages. Could you please post a link to the doc again ?

  4. Reply Prakash Prabhu Feb 14,2017 11:10 pm

    1) what is the structure of Application header in MX messages

    2) What is the equivalent of User Header in MX message header

    2) Is the ACK/NACK message structure same in MX & MT

  5. Pingback: The Most Boring Article About EBICS You'll Ever Read

  6. Reply F van Rossum Mar 17,2017 4:40 pm

    Can you tel me what means MT542

  7. Reply sp Apr 17,2017 12:16 pm

    Hi ,
    Can u send me sample file or example of mt995 file generation?
    How should mt995 message look like in the file?
    How to generate mt995 file against of mt950?

    Please give me one sample record for mt950 from which we will generate mt995.

    Thanks

  8. Reply reuven saar Jun 15,2017 4:48 pm

    what format should be used to swift an unsecured Promissory Note?

  9. Reply Dan Jun 23,2017 11:11 am

    How do I interpret the below syntax for the 22F qualifier in Sequence A of an MT564 ?

    (see qualifier description)

    :4!c/[8c]/4!c

  10. Reply Matthew Jan 9,2019 1:25 pm

    Should Category Six be “Precious”?

  11. Reply Parthiban Apr 4,2019 8:30 pm

    Hi Team,

    Can you please provide the MT message type for camp.027

  12. Reply Hareesh Jun 8,2019 4:34 pm

    Hi,

    Can you briefly explain how MT300 works in FX Market with a understandable flow chart ? OR Provide any document link.
    Thanks for needful.

  13. Reply Hitesh Chariya Jun 11,2019 6:32 am

    Hi,
    can you provide the Mt 760 meaage type format and explain in briefly.

  14. Reply abhiram Jul 31,2019 11:53 am

    Hi hiteeesh

    MT7XX this series is mainly used for Documentary credits and guarantees

    MT760 (MT means Message Type) is a bank-responsible guarantee (LC, SBLC, BG) as well as Blocked Fund Letter issue communicated bank to bank by the sender bank. MT760 sent upon instructions of its client (applicant) in favor of a particular transactions or country party (beneficiary).

  15. Reply Ank Oct 11,2019 7:57 am

    Hi team can you please send mt5 example

  16. Reply Shreedharan Nov 11,2019 1:10 pm

    Hi Team or anyone out there,

    Can you please share with me the following:

    1. Structure of MT 103 and MT 202 messages ( Different fields, mandatory-optional fields etc)
    2. SEPA Payment life cycle explanation

    Thanks and regards,
    SN

  17. Reply Pragya Verma Dec 24,2019 12:16 pm

    Hi,

    Is there is document available that gives MT 300/304 to MX mapping in detail? There is one document on the swift website (https://www2.swift.com/knowledgecentre/products/Standards%20MT) which is for MT 5xx series but I am in need of MT 300/304.

    Any idea if this is published anywhere known? Or may be released in the future?

    Thank you

  18. Reply Fernando Ancheta Jan 10,2020 4:35 pm

    HELLO,can send me sample of MT760

  19. Reply Bigi Lathika Feb 11,2020 6:34 am

    Hi,
    Can you please tell me which is the most used swift message type.

    Thanks,
    Bigi Lathika

  20. Reply kramo Jul 11,2021 6:30 pm

    Hello, I am looking for a platform for SWIFT MT message testing

  21. Reply Alejandro DAngelo Mamposo Aug 18,2021 7:50 pm

    Please can someone help me to undertand MT103 box-network
    Or send a draft.

Leave a Reply

  

  

  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.