MT400 — Advice of Payment (Collection)
The advice of payment from the presenting bank to the remitting bank after a documentary or financial collection has been effectively settled. The Cat 4 message that closes the cycle: funds have been collected from the drawee.
Purpose
MT400 is sent by the presenting bank (collecting bank, in charge of collecting from the importer drawee) to the remitting bank (acting for the exporter principal) to confirm that the payment has been received. It carries the collected amount, charges breakdown, net amount remitted to the exporter, and the intermediary banking chain.
Full cycle of a Documents Against Payment (D/P) documentary collection: the exporter remits its documents (invoice, bill of lading) to its remitting bank; the remitting bank sends an MT420 (tracer) or MT421 (advice) to the presenting bank with the documents; the presenting bank presents to the importer drawee, who pays against document release; the presenting bank then issues MT400 confirming the collection and moves the funds via MT202.
Tag structure
MT400 is a flat message: a sequence of numeric tags with no block or sequence hierarchy. About 10 key tags, the minimum required to confirm collection and identify the deal.
Mandatory tags
| Tag | Name | Usage |
|---|---|---|
:20: | Sender's Reference | Unique advice reference on the presenting-bank side (16 chars). |
:21: | Related Reference | Original collection reference (= MT420 / MT421 reference, or principal's internal ref). |
:32A: | Amount Collected | Collection date + ISO 4217 + gross amount collected from the drawee. |
:71B: | Charges | Breakdown of banking charges deducted from the gross (commission, telex…). |
:33A: | Amount Remitted | Date + currency + net amount remitted to the remitting bank (= 32A − 71B). |
:52A: | Drawee Bank | BIC of the importer drawee's bank (often = sender). |
:53A: | Sender's Correspondent | BIC of the presenting bank's correspondent used for the funds move. |
:54A: | Receiver's Correspondent | Remitting-bank-side correspondent BIC. |
:58A: | Beneficiary Institution | BIC of the remitting bank (= receiver of MT400). |
:72: | Sender to Receiver Information | Free-text comment: collection conditions (PAID BY DRAWEE, AGAINST FULL ACCEPTANCE, AGAINST PARTIAL PAYMENT). |
Real-world example
Advice of payment issued by ICBC Beijing to BNP Paribas Paris: USD 145,000 was collected from the Chinese importer Guangzhou Textile Exports on 20 May 2026, banking charges USD 500, net USD 144,500 made available to the remitting bank BNP:
{1:F01ICBKCNBJAXXX0000000000}{2:I400BNPAFRPPXXXXN}{3:{108:CL20260520003}}{4:
:20:CL20260520003
:21:ACME-COL-2026-187
:32A:260520USD145000,00
:71B:USD500,00 COLLECTION CHARGES
:33A:260520USD144500,00
:52A:ICBKCNBJXXXX
:53A:CHASUS33XXX
:54A:BNPAFRPPXXX
:58A:BNPAFRPPXXX
:72:/REC/PAID BY DRAWEE GUANGZHOU TEXTILE EXPORTS
/REC/AGAINST FULL ACCEPTANCE
-}:21:ACME-COL-2026-187— original collection reference (ACME exporter side, passed by BNP).:32A:260520USD145000,00— gross amount collected on 20 May 2026.:71B:USD500,00 COLLECTION CHARGES— ICBC banking charges.:33A:260520USD144500,00— net USD 144,500 remitted to BNP.:52A:ICBKCNBJXXXX— drawee's bank (ICBC).:53A:CHASUS33XXX— USD correspondent at Chase for the transfer.:54A:BNPAFRPPXXX— BNP as receiver's correspondent.:72:/REC/PAID BY DRAWEE...— collection commentary.
Common pitfalls
- Wrong
:21:— without the right upstream reference, the remitting bank cannot tie the advice to its collection file. Causes an accounting suspense on the exporter side. - Charges deducted without breakdown —
:71B:must be a structured text spelling out each commission. An:71B:USD500,00with no label gives the exporter no clue and triggers an info request. - Net amount vs principal —
:33A:is the amount remitted to the remitting bank, after ICBC charges deduction. It is not necessarily the amount credited to the exporter (BNP may withhold its own fees downstream). - Unsignalled partial collection — if the drawee paid only a part, MT400 must indicate it in
:72:(AGAINST PARTIAL PAYMENT) and precede or follow an MT422 for instructions on the residual. - Collection date vs remittance date —
:32A:is the actual collection date. The remittance date (funds move) may be D+1 or D+2 depending on correspondents::33A:must reflect this effective availability date. - D/A vs D/P — for a Documents Against Acceptance collection (D/A, the drawee receives documents against accepting a draft), MT400 confirms acceptance, not immediate payment; actual payment follows at draft maturity with another MT400.
ISO 20022 equivalent
No standardised ISO 20022 equivalent for documentary collections. ICC has not published an XML transposition of URC 522, and the SWIFT Registration Authority has not put this domain on its roadmap. The MT400 / MT410 / MT420 / MT422 flows continue in SWIFT FIN for international trade.
Related messages
- MT410 — Acknowledgement (acknowledgment of collection before processing).
- MT420 — Tracer (status request on a stalled collection).
- MT422 — Advice of Fate and Request for Instructions (non-payment, refusal).
- MT430 — Amendment of Instructions (collection modification in flight).
- MT202 — General FI Transfer, executes the funds movement alongside MT400.
- MT700 — LC alternative for transactions requiring a stronger bank commitment than a collection.