MT101 — Request for Transfer
The customer (or its authorised agent) instructs its bank to execute one or more credit transfers. Heart of corporate cash management on SWIFTNet (SCORE programme) and nerve of multi-bank treasuries.
Purpose
MT101 lets a corporate drive its credit transfers from its ERP or TMS without using each bank's web portal. A single SWIFTNet connection (via Service Bureau or Alliance Lite2) can dispatch MT101 to any correspondent bank. Different from MT103: MT101 is an execution request, while MT103 is the interbank execution itself.
Sequences A and B
Two-level structure: Sequence A (general) once, Sequence B (transaction) repeatable.
| Seq. | Key tags |
|---|---|
| A General | :20: message ref, :28D: message number / total, :50H: ordering customer (account+name), :30: execution date. |
| B Transaction | :21: individual ref, :32B: amount and currency, :50F: ordering party (FATF-compliant), :59: beneficiary, :70: remittance info, :71A: charges (OUR/SHA/BEN). |
Real-world example
ACME Group instructs BNP Paribas to execute two transfers (Germany + UK):
{1:F01CORPACMEXXX0000000000}{2:I101BNPAFRPPXXXXN}{3:{121:1a2b3c4d-5e6f-7a8b-9c0d-1e2f3a4b5c6d}}{4:
:20:RFT20260518100
:28D:1/2
:50H:/FR7630006000011234567890189
ACME GROUP SA
8 AV DE LA REPUBLIQUE
75011 PARIS
:30:260520
:21:INV202604-001
:32B:EUR1500,00
:50F:/FR7630006000011234567890189
1/ACME GROUP SA
2/8 AV DE LA REPUBLIQUE
3/FR/75011 PARIS
:59:/DE89370400440532013000
HANS MUELLER GMBH
HAUPTSTRASSE 12
60311 FRANKFURT
:70:INV202604-001 OFFICE FURNITURE
:71A:OUR
:21:INV202604-002
:32B:EUR3200,00
:50F:/FR7630006000011234567890189
1/ACME GROUP SA
2/8 AV DE LA REPUBLIQUE
3/FR/75011 PARIS
:59:/GB29NWBK60161331926819
LONDON LOGISTICS LTD
12 BAKER ST
LONDON W1U 6TG
:70:INV202604-002 SHIPPING APRIL
:71A:OUR
-}{5:{CHK:DEADBEEFCAFE}}Common pitfalls
- :50H: and :50F: inconsistent: :50H: at level A must match each :50F: at level B.
- :50F: without 1/...2/...3/... structured lines: FATF R16 requires structured name + address since SR 2018.
- Past :30:: execution date must be today or future ; otherwise the bank rejects.
- More than 50 Sequence B transactions: usual cap (and bank policy) — switch to multi-level pain.001.
MX equivalent
The ISO 20022 equivalent is pain.001 (Customer Credit Transfer Initiation), with richer granularity (Group Header + Payment Information + Credit Transfer Transaction). Most corporate banks offer both until end of 2027.