SWIFT Message Structure

(Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)

 SWIFT Message types are the format or schema used to send messages to financial
institutions on the SWIFT network.
 The original message types were developed by SWIFT and retrospectively made into an ISO
standard, ISO 15022.
 This was later supplemented by a XML based version under ISO 20022.

A SWIFT MT message consists of the following blocks or segments:

 {1:} Basic Header Block

 {2:} Application Header Block
 {3:} User Header Block
 {4:} Text Block
 {5:} Trailer Block

To keep it very simple I’ve not included any data at this point – but to highlight the SWIFT
message structure will appear something like the following:

{1:}{2:}{3:}{4:

-}

{5:}

A header example, would be something like:

{1:F01YOURCODEZABC1234567890}{2:I101YOURBANKXJKLU3003}{3:{113:SEPA}{108:ILOVESE
PA}}{4:

Now, let’s break this example down and explain each component of it…:

SWIFT Message Structure: Basic Header

Block
This will provide information on the contents of the Basic Header Block – the bit that starts
{1:
 It will typically consist of something like: {1:F01YOURCODEZABC1234567890} where:

 {1: – Identifies the Block – i.e. the Basic Header Block

 F – Indicates the Application Id – in this case, FIN
 01 – Indicates the Service Id

o 01 = FIN
o 21 = Acknowledgement (ACK) or Negative Acknowledgement (NAK)

 YOURCODEZABC – The Logical Terminal Address – which is typically your BIC 8

(YOURCODE) + Logical Terminal Code (Z) + Branch Code
o I know YOURCODE is an invalid BIC – but lets go with it…
 1234 – Session Number – Ask SWIFT or your Service Bureau how they want you to populate
this – this is not very interesting for corporates
 567890 – Sequence Number – As above, ask your SWIFT people how they want this
populated
 } – Indicated the end of the Basic Header Block

SWIFT Message Structure: Application

Header Block
The Application Header Block will always starts {2:

And will look something like: {2:I101YOURBANKXJKLU3003} where:

 {2: – Indicates the start of the Application Header block

 I – Informs you that you’re in Input mode (i.e. the Sender), O would indicate Output mode –
so you would be the recipient of the message
 101 – Message type – in this case, an MT101
 YOURBANKXJKL – The recipients BIC, consisting of their BIC (YOURBANK) + Recipients
Logical Terminal Code (X) + Recipients Branch Code (JKL)
 U – Message Priority:

o U – Urgent
o N – Normal
o S – System

 3 – Delivery Monitoring – Ask your SWIFT contacts or Service Bureau how you should
populate this, if at all – Optional
 003 – Non-delivery notification period – again, ask your SWIFT contacts how to populate
this, if at all – Optional
 } – Indicated the end of the Application Header Block

SWIFT Message Structure: User Header

Block
The User Header Block will always starts {3:

And will look something like: {3:{113:SEPA}{108:ILOVESEPA}} where:

 {3: – Indicates the start of the User Header Block

 {113:SEPA} This is an optional 4 alphanumeric bank priority code
 {108:ILOVESEPA} – Indicates the Message User Reference (MUR) value, which can be up to
16 characters, and will be returned in the ACK
 } – Indicated the end of the User Header Block

SWIFT Message Structure: Text Block

The Text Block will always starts {4:

And will look something like: {4:

Followed by the details of the message you’re sending. In this case, it is a MT101 – as
indicated in Application Header Block message type. For this piece, I strongly recommend
that you find and read the appropriate SWIFT message specification – in this instance SWIFT
MT101 Format Specifications – and then work with your bank(s) to understand their specific
message requirements.

Finally ending with -}

SWIFT Message Structure: Trailer Block

The Trailer Block will always starts {5:

This can be added by you or the system. Work with your SWIFT contacts to know if you
need to indicate this block.

And ends with }

Overview of SWIFT MT Categories:

Message
Description
Type
MT0xx System Messages
MT1xx Customer Payments and Cheques
MT2xx Financial Institution Transfers
MT3xx Treasury Markets
MT4xx Collection and Cash Letters
MT5xx Securities Markets
MT6xx Treasury Markets - Metals and Syndications
MT7xx Documentary Credits and Guarantees
MT8xx Travellers Cheques
MT9xx Cash Management and Customer Status

All SWIFT messages include the literal "MT" (Message Type). This is followed by a three-digit
number that denotes the message category, group and type. Consider the following example, which
is an order to buy or sell via a third party:

 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 Travellers 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.

 Example 2 : MT103
The first digit (1) represents the category. A category denotes messages that relate to particular
financial instruments or services such as Cash Transfer(1), Treasury (3), or Cash Management (9).
The category denoted by 1 is Cash Transfer.
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.

ISO 20022 MX[edit]

A new message type expressed in XML syntax, which is more flexible and easier to implement than
the previous generation of message types (MT). These message types are developed in accordance
with ISO 20022 standard.
Current syntax is as following: xxxx.nnn.aaa.bb, where
 xxxx is an alphabetic code in four positions (fixed length) identifying the Business Process,
 nnn is an alphanumeric code in three positions (fixed length) identifying the Message
Functionality,
 aaa is a numeric code in three positions (fixed length) identifying a particular flavour (variant) of
Message Functionality,
 bb is a numeric code in two positions (fixed length) identifying the version.
Consider the following example: TREA.001.001.02

 TREA refers to ‘Treasury’

 001 refers to ‘NDF opening (notification)’
 001 refers to the variant
 02 refers to the version message format, in this case version 2 of ‘NDF opening’ type.
SWIFT Standards for MX Messages:

MX Identifier Description
acmt.xxx.xxx.xx Account Management
admi.xxx.xxx.xx Administration
camt.xxx.xxx.xx Cash Management
defp.xxx.xxx.xx Derivatives
pacs.xxx.xxx.xx Payments Clearing and Settlement
pain.xxx.xxx.xx Payments Initiation
reda.xxx.xxx.xx Reference Data
seev.xxx.xxx.xx Securities Events
semt.xxx.xxx.xx Securities Management
sese.xxx.xxx.xx Securities Settlement
setr.xxx.xxx.xx Securities Trade
trea.xxx.xxx.xx Treasury
tsmt.xxx.xxx.xx Trade Services Management