What are Swift MT codes?

Answer 1

S.W.I.F.T. (or SWIFT) stands for Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. It is a non-profit organization comprised of member financial institutions. It was established in 1973 by European bankers who needed a more efficient and secure system for inter bank communications and transfer of funds and securities. Until then, all inter bank communications were by telephone, telex, courier, or mail.

SWIFT send payment messages and advices between parties (usually banks), electronically. These messages are sent in either MT or MX format - MT being the old and still current style with MX the newer XML formatted style.

The parties have an identifier code, somewhat like your email address in function, which identifies the bank to the SWIFT system and other members. You'll find lots of references to BIC codes which is Bank Identifier Code with codes appended (like LCD display!).

The Message type is a numeric code which controls the usage of the message and its validation and content. For example an MT 103 is a payment message whilst an MT 320 is a confirmation of a loan/deposit.

So to answer the question correctly you need to be clear if the 'codes' reference is based on the MT message type or the BIC - hopefully the above information answers both.