SWIFT:Message Types

SWIFT Message types are the format or schema used to send messages to financial institutions on the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) 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.

The SWIFT network supports the following message standards:

SWIFT messages consist of five blocks of the 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). 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:

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.

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.

Overview of SWIFT MT Categories:

Although ISO 15022 Message Types are different in their structure than the SWIFT MT, the naming convention remains the same. The following example will illustrate:

As with SWIFT MTs, the first digit (3) denotes the category. As above, this denotes Treasury Markets.

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