BTL 906 - Family of Swift Messages

 

The Banking Tutor’s Lessons

BTL 906                                                                                06-06-2026

Family of Swift Messages

SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) messages are organized into standardized message families based on their specific financial function.

These categories utilize either the traditional MT (Message Type) format or the modern ISO 20022 (MX) format. The comprehensive breakdown of the SWIFT message families includes the following categories:

1. Customer Payments and Cheques (Category 1) - Designed for transferring funds on behalf of individuals or businesses.

MT 103: Single Customer Credit Transfer (The industry-standard for most international wire transfers).

MT 101: Request for Transfer.

MT 110/111: Advice of a cheque.

 

2. Financial Institution Transfers (Category 2) - Used strictly for interbank settlements and transferring a bank's own funds.

MT 202: General Financial Institution Transfer (Used for correspondent banking and settling wire transfers between financial institutions).

MT 210: Notice to receive.

 

3. Treasury Markets & Derivatives (Categories 3 & 6) - Used to confirm foreign exchange (FX) trades, money market deals, and precious metal trading.

MT 300: Foreign Exchange Confirmation.

MT 320: Fixed Term / Loan Deposit Confirmation.

 

4. Collections and Cash Letters (Category 4) - Instructions and advice regarding documentary collections and cheques.

MT 410: Acknowledgment.

5. Securities Markets (Category 5) - Handles trades, settlements, corporate actions, and investment portfolio instructions.

MT 540: Receive free / Receive against payment (settlement instructions).

 

6. Documentary Credits and Guarantees (Category 7) - Used to facilitate international trade, primarily Letters of Credit and Guarantees.

MT 700: Issue of a Documentary Credit.

MT 760: Guarantee / Standby-type undertaking.

MT 799: Free format narrative (used for proof of funds or pre-advice).

 

7. Cash Management & Status (Category 9) - Provides visibility into account balances and statements.

MT 940: Customer Statement Message.

MT 900 / MT 910: Confirmation of Debit or Credit.

Sekhar Pariti

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