MT790 — Advice of Charges (Cat 7)
Charges advice for a documentary credit (MT700) or bank guarantee (MT760). Issued periodically by the advising / confirming bank.
Purpose
MT790 informs the issuing bank of an LC or guarantee about charges levied by the advising bank: issuance commission, amendment fees, carry interest. Cat 7 counterpart of MT190.
Block 4 structure
Identical to MT190 (tags 20, 21, 32B, 52A, 71B, 72). Tag :21: references the MT700 / MT760 / MT707 concerned.
Real-world example
Citibank charges 2500 USD quarterly commission on LC LC-2026-001:
{1:F01BNPAFRPPAXXX0000000000}{2:I790CITIUS33XXXXN}{4:
:20:LCC260518001
:21:LC20260301001
:32B:USD2500,00
:71B:/CHRG/LC ISSUANCE FEE - QUARTERLY
/COMM/ADVISING BANK COMMISSION
:72:/REC/REF MT700 LC NO LC-2026-001 ISSUED 01 MAR 2026
-}{5:{CHK:YZA789012345}}Common pitfalls
- :21: references a non-existent LC — without proper MT700 reference, the advice cannot be reconciled.
- Wrong category — MT790 is reserved for Cat 7; an advice on MT103 or MT202 uses MT190 / MT290.
- Undocumented charges — a too-vague :72: makes it hard to justify to the originator client.