{{Short description|International banking protocol messages}} '''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 a subset was retrospectively made into an [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO standard]], [[ISO 15022]]. In many instances, SWIFT message types between custodians follow the ISO standard.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Global Custody and Clearing Services|last=McGill|first=R.|last2=Patel|first2=N.|date=2008|publisher=Springer|isbn=9781349282883|location=Basingstoke, Hampshire|pages=27}}</ref> This was later supplemented by a [[XML]] based version under [[ISO 20022]].
==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).<ref>swift.com {{Full citation needed|date=June 2025}}</ref> 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.<ref name=list>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paiementor.com/list-of-all-swift-messages-types/|title=List of all SWIFT Messages Types|website=Paiementor|language=en-GB|access-date=2020-01-07}}</ref> 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]]
* 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.<ref name=list />
== Overview of SWIFT MT categories == The table below shows the different categories and the message type descriptions. {| class="wikitable" !Category ! Message type ! Description !Number of message types |- |0 | MT0{{var|..}} | System messages | - |- |1 | MT1{{var|..}} | Customer payments and cheques |19 |- |2 | MT2{{var|..}} | Financial institution transfers |18 |- |3 | MT3{{var|..}} | Treasury markets |27 |- |4 | MT4{{var|..}} | Collection and cash letters |17 |- |5 | MT5{{var|..}} | Securities Markets |60 |- |6 | MT6{{var|..}} | Treasury markets – metals and syndications |22 |- |7 | MT7{{var|..}} | Documentary credits and guarantees |29 |- |8 | MT8{{var|..}} | Traveller's cheques |11 |- |9 | MT9{{var|..}} | Cash management and customer status |21 |}
==ISO 15022 MT == Although [[ISO 15022]] message types are different in their structure from the SWIFT MT, the naming convention remains the same.
==Legal status== The [[Courts of England and Wales|Courts in England and Wales]] have held that the header of a SWIFT message amounts to a valid form of [[electronic signature]].<ref>Gill, C., [https://www.walkermorris.co.uk/comment-opinion/law-commission-report-on-electronic-signatures/ Law Commission report on electronic signatures], ''Walker Morris'', published on 26 September 2019, accessed on 18 June 2025</ref>
==See also== * [[Delivery versus payment]] * [[ISO 9362]] (standard format for SWIFT IDs) * [[MT202 COV]] * [[MT940]]
==External links== * Message standards supported by the SWIFT network: {{cite news |title=Standards MT & MX Equivalence Table |url=https://www2.swift.com/uhbonline/books/public/en_uk/stdsmt_mt_mx_eq_tbl/stdsmt_mt_mx_eq_tbl.pdf |publisher=SWIFT |date=28 July 2017}} * Message types defined in ISO15022 {{cite news |title=ISO15022 Data Field Dictionary - Index of Messages |url=https://www.iso20022.org/15022/uhb |publisher=ISO }}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift:Message Types}} [[Category:Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication]]