What is an MT103 and when do I need it?

An MT103 is a standard SWIFT payment message used to send international wire transfers, providing full details of the sender, recipient, and payment instructions. Banks use it as proof of payment because it confirms that funds have been sent and routed through the SWIFT network.

MT103s happen often without you knowing. If you have clients overseas or engage in cross-border trade, you may have passed thousands of MT103 messages without ever knowing it. 

MT103s are used every day to communicate single customer credit transfers for international payment systems. They are one of the many standardised messages passed through the SWIFT network, a system used by financial institutions all over the world to transfer money from one nation to the next. 

As a business owner, it is important for you to know about MT130s as they offer proof of payment, help to track payments down, and resolve any potential disputes you may face with suppliers or customers. 

This article is a comprehensive guide to MT103 messages and their place in the SWIFT system. Read on to find out how you can understand them and use them to protect your business interests. 

What is communicated on an MT103 message? 

MT103 messages transfer information about single customer credit transfers, which convey a variety of information and standardised instructions relating to the transfer of money from one country to another. 

We normally don’t need to pay much attention to MT103s as they are created automatically when we send or request a payment to a contact abroad. 

An MT103 message includes information such as:

• Details of the payer and payee
• Bank IDs (BIC codes) 
• The amount being transferred
• Currency information 
• Charges of using the SWIFT network  

All of these details are compacted within the message and transmitted through the SWIFT network between the payer and payee’s individual banks. 

What is the SWIFT network? 

SWIFT is a payment network that facilitates cross-border transactions between people and businesses. If you’ve ever set up a contract with an overseas business, you’ve likely had to provide your bank’s SWIFT code as well in order to process payments. 

SWIFT replaced the Telex messaging network in the 1970s, which automated the international payment process, encrypted payments, and standardised messages to streamline how we transfer money between borders. 

Now the SWIFT system passes the entire world’s GDP through its network every three days, a major portion of which is facilitated by MT103 messages.

What are the benefits of knowing MT103 messages? 

While MT103s are an automated process, implemented without many of us needing to know. However, as a business owner, you can use knowledge of MT103s to reap several key benefits:

Proof of payment

If you transfer payments abroad, but the payee says they haven’t received it, then requesting an MT103 from your bank acts as proof of payment to help reconcile these disputes.  

Tracks international payments 

Using the SWIFT system means that you can track your international payments using the MT103 message, helping to alleviate any concern as to the progress of your payment or clearly view where it has run into any problems. 

Ensures financial compliance

Knowing your MT103 number and the role it plays in legal financial compliance can help to process regulatory checks performed by bodies such as the AML (Anti-money laundering registration). 

Do I have to pay for it?

Banks will most likely charge you an extra fee to provide a copy of an MT103. This is because they don’t automatically produce this document when they process international transfers.

However, if you’ve made your international payment with CurrencyTransfer, you won’t be charged anything.

What does an MT103 message look like? 

An MT103 message is transported through the SWIFT network, appearing as lines of code. They are separated into five different blocks, each of which has a unique function.

When you request an MT103 message from your bank, they break down this information into more digestible parts. While each MT103 document will vary from bank to bank, they will typically present information as follows: 

SWIFT MT103 Payment Confirmation 

Bank Name: BANK BE BB (BIC: BANKBEBBAXXX)

Transaction Date: 05/09/01 

Your Reference: REF123456789

Document request date: XX/XX/XX

Account Holder: [Customer name] 

What are the MT103 fields?

The SWIFT MT103 fields show all you need to know about the transaction, you can use the table below to view the definition of the MT103 fields. You would expect to see the below on your document:

How do I acquire an MT103? 

In order to get your MT103 details from a specific payment, you need to contact the bank that you used to make the payment in the first place.

Banks don't typically provide this information unless you ask them to. They may also charge a small fee to process this request (usually costing between £10-£50), and it usually takes 1-5 days to receive your MT103.

You can request your MT103 by:

• Requesting it through your banking portal
• Contacting customer support
• Visiting your local branch

If you are receiving the funds, then you should ask the sender to acquire the MT103 on your behalf.

How can I understand MT103 messages?

MT103s contain a variety of payment information that is both mandatory and optional, meaning some information is always communicated, and other information is sometimes communicated but is not required by the SWIFT system.

This information can get technical, so below is a reference table explaining the various codes and symbols you need to know in order to understand SWIFT messages.

Have MT103 messages been discontinued in 2025?

As of 22nd November 2025, MT103 messages have been decommissioned as the SWIFT system has migrated to the new global messaging standard ISO 20020.

ISO 20020 is responsible for standardising the messages used by the SWIFT system, and it has opted to replace MT messages with richer XML-structured formats to transmit better quality data, compliance and interoperability.

As such, MT103 messages have been directly replaced by their XML counterpart, PACS.008. Any payment that continues to use the old MT103 format risks automatic rejection of the message and failure in processing the payment.

Understanding an MT103

An MT103 is a type of message used to communicate single customer credit transfers through the SWIFT payment system. By knowing what an MT103 is, businesses can track down payments, provide proof of international payments, and help process financial compliance checks. The MT103 messages are made up of a variety of mandatory and optional fields that provide various types of instructions and information. As of the 22nd November 2025, MT103s are now legacy messages and have been exchanged for XML-rich PACS.008 messages in accordance with new standardisation rules brought in by ISO 20020.

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