Category 1: Customer payments and cheques
MT199 Free Format Message
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The MT199 is the free text message banks exchange about customer payments when no structured message fits: questions about a payment, requests for information, notices that a payment was rejected or returned, and status updates. It goes from one financial institution to another (or between a corporate and its bank) and usually quotes the payment it concerns in field 21. Swift’s cross-border ISO 20022 plan moves its enquiry and investigation uses to case management messages such as camt.110 and camt.111.
When MT199 is used
An MT199 carries information for which no other message type exists. The category digit routes it: an MT199 lands with the team that handles customer payments (category 1), an MT299 with the team for interbank transfers, an MT999 with cash management. A bank picks the category of the payment it is writing about so that the message reaches the people who can act on it.
Typical MT199 traffic in payments operations: the beneficiary’s bank says the account in an MT103 is closed or the name does not match and asks for instructions; a correspondent asks for the purpose of a payment or more detail on the ordering customer before releasing it; a bank tells the previous bank that it has rejected or returned a payment; or a bank answers a question it received.
In Swift gpi, MT199 has also been used to report the status of a tracked payment (for example that the beneficiary had been credited, or that the payment was pending at an intermediary), quoting the UETR of the payment.
Because the message is free text, the receiving bank usually has to read it and act manually. Quote the original reference in field 21, and give the amount, value date and parties of the payment in the first lines of field 79, so the receiving team can find the payment quickly.
The n99 format does not apply in categories 4 and 7: the MT799 for trade finance has its own layout.
MT199 format: sequences and fields
Message text (block 4)Mandatory
Three fields, no sequences.
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Transaction Reference Number | M | 16x | The Sender’s reference for this message. No leading or trailing slash and no double slash. |
| 21 | Related Reference | O | 16x | The reference of the message this one is about, for example field 20 of the MT103 being queried. Optional in the standard, but in practice an MT199 about a payment without field 21 is hard to route and match. |
| 79 | Narrative | M | 35*50x | The free text: up to 35 lines of 50 characters in the Swift character set. In categories 1 and 2, a first line starting with /REJT/ or /RETN/ marks a payment reject or return and must then follow the payments reject and return guidelines. |
Format notation: n digits, a upper-case letters, c upper-case letters and digits, x any character of the Swift character set, d a decimal number with a comma, ! fixed length, [ ] optional, 4*35x up to 4 lines of 35 characters. M mandatory, O optional, C conditional (a rule decides).
Rules worth knowing
- There are no network validated rules across fields for the MT n99; only the format of each field is checked.
- In categories 1 and 2, if line 1 of field 79 starts with /REJT/ or /RETN/, the content must follow the Swift payments reject and return guidelines.
- Choose the category digit so that the message is routed to the unit of the Receiver that can act on it: MT199 for customer payments, MT299 for interbank transfers.
- An MT199 is information, not an instruction. Banks do not move money on the strength of a free format message; a payment, cancellation or return needs its own message.
- The n99 format is not used in categories 4 and 7; see the MT799 for trade finance.
MT199 example
BANKGB2LXXX in London received an MT103 (reference ZT2610200057) from ZagTrader Test Bank, Dubai, for USD 48,500.00 to Acme Components Ltd. The beneficiary account has been closed, so BANKGB2L holds the payment and asks ZagTrader for instructions.
{1:F01BANKGB2LAXXX0000000000}{2:I199ZAGTAEADXXXXN}{4:
:20:Q26102100014
:21:ZT2610200057
:79:RE YOUR MT103 DD 261020 USD48500,00
VALUE 261022 IFO ACME COMPONENTS LTD
ACCOUNT GB42BANK40051587654321 CLOSED ON 261015.
FUNDS HELD PENDING YOUR INSTRUCTIONS.
PLS ADVISE NEW ACCOUNT OR AUTHORISE RETURN.
-}Decode this example in the parserLine by line
| Line | What it says |
|---|---|
| {1:F01BANKGB2LAXXX0000000000}{2:I199ZAGTAEADXXXXN}{4: | Sender BANKGB2LXXX, input MT199 to ZAGTAEADXXX, normal priority. |
| :20:Q26102100014 | BANKGB2L’s reference for this query. |
| :21:ZT2610200057 | Field 20 of the MT103 the query is about. |
| :79:RE YOUR MT103 DD 261020 USD48500,00 | Free text, at most 50 characters per line. The first line identifies the payment. |
| VALUE 261022 IFO ACME COMPONENTS LTD | |
| ACCOUNT GB42BANK40051587654321 CLOSED ON 261015. | States the problem plainly. |
| FUNDS HELD PENDING YOUR INSTRUCTIONS. | |
| PLS ADVISE NEW ACCOUNT OR AUTHORISE RETURN. | States what the Receiver should do next. |
| -} | End of block 4. |
BICs, references and the IBAN are made up; the IBAN has valid check digits.
Under ISO 20022 case management the same question would be a structured investigation request rather than free text.
Common errors and rejects
Field 79 line longer than 50 characters
Each line of field 79 holds at most 50 characters and the field at most 35 lines. Text pasted from e-mail with long lines fails format validation; wrap it before sending.
Characters outside the Swift character set
Accented letters, ampersands, at signs and some quotes are not in the FIN character set. Replace them (for example AND for &) or the message is rejected.
No related reference
Field 21 is optional, but a query with no reference to the original payment lands in a general queue and waits. Always quote field 20 of the message you are asking about.
MT199 used to instruct a cancellation or amendment
Receivers do not act on a free text cancellation. To stop a payment, send an MT192; the answer comes back as an MT196.
Reject or return text not in the agreed format
An MT199 starting with /REJT/ or /RETN/ must follow the payments reject and return guidelines; free wording after those codes can be refused or misread by automated systems.
Personal data cut or garbled in a query about an ISO 20022 payment
When the original payment was a pacs.008, names and addresses quoted from an MT copy may be shortened. Quote the UETR as well so the other bank can find the full payment.
How to fix it
MT199 in ISO 20022
There is no single ISO 20022 equivalent of a free format message. For enquiries and investigations, Swift’s cross-border (CBPR+) roadmap replaces MT n95, n96 and n99 with case management messages: camt.110 (Investigation Request) and camt.111 (Investigation Response). Cancellations move to camt.056, answered by camt.029. Public summaries of the roadmap point to admi.024 (Notification of Correspondence) for bilateral free format traffic.
Swift has rescheduled the enquiry and investigation steps more than once (a change originally planned for November 2026 was deferred), so check the current Swift and correspondent notices for the dates that apply to you.
Payment rejects that banks used to report with an MT199 starting with /REJT/ are reported in ISO 20022 as a pacs.002 status, and returns as a pacs.004.
MT199 questions
- What is an MT199 used for?
- For free text between banks about customer payments: asking about a payment, requesting information on the ordering customer or purpose, telling the other bank a payment was rejected or returned, or answering such a question.
- What is the difference between MT199 and MT299?
- Only the category. MT199 is routed to the team for customer payments (category 1), MT299 to the team for interbank transfers (category 2). The layout is the same.
- Can an MT199 cancel a payment?
- No. A cancellation request is an MT192 (MT292 in category 2), and the Receiver answers with an MT196. An MT199 is information only.
- What does /REJT/ at the start of an MT199 mean?
- It marks the message as a payment reject under the Swift payments reject and return guidelines; /RETN/ marks a return. The rest of the text then follows those guidelines, including a reason.
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