SWIFT message types are the format or schema used to send messages to financial institutions on the
SWIFT
Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to:
* SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks
** SWIFT code
* Swift (programming language)
* Swift (bird), a family of birds
It may also refer to:
Organizations
* SWIFT, ...
network. The original message types were developed by SWIFT and a subset was retrospectively made into an
ISO standard
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ) is an international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. Membership requirements are given in Art ...
,
ISO 15022
ISO 15022 is an ISO standard for securities messaging used in transactions between financial institutions. Participants in the financial industry need a common representation of the financial transactions they perform and this standard defines gene ...
. In many instances, SWIFT message types between custodians follow the ISO standard. This was later supplemented by a
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...
based version under
ISO 20022
ISO 20022 is an ISO standard for electronic data interchange between financial institutions. It describes a metadata repository containing descriptions of messages and business processes, and a maintenance process for the repository content. Th ...
.
Composition of MT number
SWIFT messages consist of five blocks of data including three headers, message content, and a trailer. Message types are crucial to identifying content.
All SWIFT messages include the literal "MT" (message type/text). This is followed by a three-digit number that denotes the message ''category'', ''group'' and ''type''. Consider the following two examples.
Example 1
MT304
* The first digit (3) represents the category. A category denotes messages that relate to particular financial instruments or services such as precious metals (6), treasury (3), or traveller's cheques (8). The category denoted by 3 is treasury markets
* The second digit (0) represents a group of related parts in a transaction life cycle. The group indicated by 0 is a financial institution transfer.
* The third digit (4) is the type that denotes the specific message. There are several hundred message types across the categories. The type represented by 4 is a notification.
A MT304 message is considered an "Advice/Instruction of a Third Party Deal" and it used to advise of or instruct the settlement of a third party foreign exchange deal. For example, an asset manager who executed a FX transaction with a broker would send a MT304 instruction to the custodian bank of the client.
Example 2
MT103
MT103 (Message Type 103) is a specific SWIFT message types/format used on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system to send for cross border/international wire transfer messages between financial insti ...
* The first digit (1) represents the category. The category denoted by 1 is customer payments and cheques.
* The second digit (0) represents a group of related parts in a transaction life cycle. The group indicated by 0 is a financial institution transfer.
* The third digit (3) is the type that denotes the specific message. There are several hundred message types across the categories. The type represented by 3 is a notification.
A MT103 message is considered a "Single Customer Credit Transfer" and is used to instruct a funds transfer.
Overview of SWIFT MT categories
The table below shows the different categories and the message type descriptions.
ISO 15022 MT
Although
ISO 15022
ISO 15022 is an ISO standard for securities messaging used in transactions between financial institutions. Participants in the financial industry need a common representation of the financial transactions they perform and this standard defines gene ...
message types are different in their structure than the SWIFT MT, the naming convention remains the same.
See also
*
Delivery versus payment Delivery versus payment or DvP is a common form of settlement for securities. The process involves the simultaneous delivery of all documents necessary to give effect to a transfer of securities in exchange for the receipt of the stipulated payment ...
*
ISO 9362
ISO 9362 is an international standard for Business Identifier Codes (BIC), a unique identifier for business institutions, approved by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). BIC is also known as SWIFT-BIC, SWIFT ID, or SWIFT code, ...
(standard format for SWIFT IDs)
*
Market data
''For market data as used in marketing, see marketing information system''
In finance, market data is price and other related data for a financial instrument reported by a trading venue such as a stock exchange. Market data allows traders an ...
*
MT202 COV
*
MT940
External links
* Message standards supported by the SWIFT network:
* Message types defined in ISO15022
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift:Message Types
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication