What is the difference between ex date, record date and pay date?

The ex date is the first day the share trades without the dividend. The record date is when positions are taken to decide who is paid. The pay date is when the cash is paid. A buyer who trades before the ex date is entitled, even if the trade settles after the record date; the CSD then moves the cash with a market claim.

What is the difference between DVCA and DVOP?

DVCA pays cash only (at most with a choice of currency). DVOP gives a choice between cash and new shares, so holders who want shares must instruct.

Why is the amount on my MT566 lower than holding times rate?

Usually withholding tax: the MT566 shows the gross amount, the tax withheld and the net amount. Other causes are fees, a different record date position than expected or a currency conversion.

Corporate action events

DVCA: Cash Dividend

Written and maintained by ZagTrader. Last reviewed 21 October 2026. How this page is sourced and checked

DVCA is a cash dividend: the company pays shareholders a set amount of cash per share. It is the most common corporate action event and is normally mandatory: holders on the record date receive the cash without instructing.

Code: DVCA
Usually announced as: MAND (CHOS with a currency or reinvestment choice)

What DVCA means

A company pays a dividend out of its profits, usually as a regular interim or final dividend, sometimes as a special one-off payment. The board declares an amount per share, a currency and the key dates. Every holder entitled on the record date receives the amount per share times the holding, less any withholding tax.

The ex date is the first day the shares trade without the right to the dividend; buyers from that day do not get it. The record date is the day positions are taken to decide who is paid. The payment date is when the cash is paid. Under the European market standards, the ex date comes before the record date by the settlement cycle minus one business day, so that trades done before the ex date settle by the record date.

A holder who bought before the ex date but whose trade had not settled by the record date is owed the dividend by the seller; CSDs settle this with a market claim.

When you see it

An MT564 with :22F::CAEV//DVCA and :22F::CAMV//MAND, a single CASH option, the gross dividend rate (:92a::GRSS), sometimes the net rate (:92a::NETT) and withholding tax rate (:92a::TAXR), the ex date (XDTE), record date (RDTE) and payment date (PAYD). The type of dividend can be given with :22F::DIVI//REGR, //INTE, //FINL or //SPEC. When holders may choose the currency or the dividend is eligible for reinvestment, the SMPG grid uses CHOS with more than one option.
DVCA vs similar events: DVOP offers shares or cash, with the shares newly issued. DRIP reinvests the cash in shares bought in the market. DVSE pays shares instead of cash. DVSC pays in scrip. CAPD, SHPR and CAPG pay cash from capital, share premium or capital gains rather than from income. Interest on bonds is INTR.
After payment you receive an MT566; some account servicers send a preliminary advice of payment first (an MT564 with :22F::ADDB//CAPA, or seev.035 in ISO 20022).

What to do next

No instruction for a mandatory dividend. Check the record date position, including pending trades and securities on loan, and project the income.
When the MT566 arrives, reconcile the gross amount (:19B::GRSS), withholding tax (:19B::TAXR) and net amount (:19B::NETT) against your projection, and check the posting date and currency. Differences usually come from the tax rate applied, a wrong record date position or a missing market claim.
If the withholding rate is higher than the client’s treaty rate, look at relief at source for the next payment (WTRC) or a reclaim for this one (TREC). The corporate action lifecycle guide walks through each message from announcement to payment.

Where it appears in MT and ISO 20022

MT (ISO 15022)

MT564 sequence A (GENL): :22F::CAEV//DVCA, with :22F::CAMV//MAND (or CHOS); dividend type in sequence D :22F::DIVI.
MT566 and MT568 sequence A: :22F::CAEV//DVCA; MT565 and MT567 for the CHOS case.

MX (ISO 20022)

seev.031 CorpActnGnlInf/EvtTp/Cd = DVCA, with CorpActnGnlInf/MndtryVlntryEvtTp/Cd = MAND; dates in CorpActnDtls/DtDtls/ExDvddDt, RcrdDt and PmtDt; dividend type in CorpActnDtls/DvddTp.
The same event type element is used in seev.035 (preliminary advice), seev.036 (movement confirmation) and, for the CHOS case, seev.033.

Questions

What is the difference between ex date, record date and pay date?: The ex date is the first day the share trades without the dividend. The record date is when positions are taken to decide who is paid. The pay date is when the cash is paid. A buyer who trades before the ex date is entitled, even if the trade settles after the record date; the CSD then moves the cash with a market claim.
What is the difference between DVCA and DVOP?: DVCA pays cash only (at most with a choice of currency). DVOP gives a choice between cash and new shares, so holders who want shares must instruct.
Why is the amount on my MT566 lower than holding times rate?: Usually withholding tax: the MT566 shows the gross amount, the tax withheld and the net amount. Other causes are fees, a different record date position than expected or a currency conversion.