What is an MT940?

An MT940 is a standard structured SWIFT Customer Statement message. In short, it is an

electronic bank account statement which has been developed by SWIFT. It is a end of
day statement file which details all entries booked to an account.

MT940 Format Details:

The MT940 file format consists of the following sections and tags:

Tag 20 – Transaction Reference Number

 Mandatory – 16x
 Used by the Sender to unambiguously identify the message

Tag 21 – Related Reference

 Optional – 16x
 If the MT 940 is sent in response to an MT 920 Request Message, this field must contain
the field 20 Transaction Reference Number of the request message

Tag 25 – Account Identification

 Mandatory – 35x
 This field identifies the account for which the statement is sent

Tag 28C – Statement Number/Sequence Number

 Mandatory – 5n[/5n]
 Sequential number of the statement, optionally followed by the sequence number of
the message within that statement when more than one message is sent for one
statement
o For example – the first message within the statement would be represented as
28C:111/1, the second message within the same file would be 28C:111/2

Tag 60a – Opening Balance

 Mandatory – 1!a6!n3!a15d – D/C | Date | Currency | Amount

 Indicating for the (intermediate) opening balance, whether it is a debit or credit
balance, the date, the currency and the amount of the balance
 There are 2 options:
o Option F – :60F:
 Debit/Credit | Last Statement Date (YYMMDD) | Currency (ISO) | Amount
o Option M – :60M:
 Debit/Credit | Current Statement Date (YYMMDD) | Currency (ISO) | Amount

Tag 61 – Statement Line

 Optional – 6!n[4!n]2a[1!a]15d1!a3!c16x[//16x]
[34x]
o 6!n Value Date (YYMMDD)
o [4!n] Entry Date (MMDD)
o 2a Debit/Credit Mark
o [1!a] Funds Code (3rd character of the currency code, if needed)
o 15d Amount
o 1!a3!c Transaction Type Identification Code
o 16x Customer Reference
o [//16x] Bank Reference
o [34x] Supplementary Details (this will be on a new/separate line)

Tag 86 – Information to Account Owner

 Optional – 6x65x
 Additional information about the transaction detailed in the preceding statement line
and which is to be passed on to the account owner

Tag 62a – Closing Balance (Booked Funds)

 Mandatory – 1!a6!n3!a15d – D/C | Date | Currency | Amount

 Indicating for the (intermediate) closing balance, whether it is a debit or credit
balance, the date, the currency and the amount of the balance
 There are 2 options:
o Option F – :60F:
 Debit/Credit | Last Statement Date (YYMMDD) | Currency (ISO) | Amount
o Option M – :60M:
 Debit/Credit | Current Statement Date (YYMMDD) | Currency (ISO) | Amount

Tag 64 – Closing Available Balance (Available Funds)

 Optional – 1!a6!n3!a15d – D/C | Date | Currency | Amount

 Indicates the funds which are available to the account owner (if credit balance) or the
balance which is subject to interest charges (if debit balance).
 Debit Balance /Credit Balance | Date (YYMMDD) | Currency (ISO) | Amount

Tag 65 – Forward Available Balance

 Optional – 1!a6!n3!a15d – – D/C | Date | Currency | Amount

 Indicates the funds which are available to the account owner (if a credit or debit
balance) for the specified forward value date
 Debit Balance /Credit Balance | Date (YYMMDD) | Currency (ISO) | Amount

Tag 86 – Information to Account Owner

 Optional – 6x65x
 Additional information about the statement as a whole