Category 2: Financial institution transfers
MT205COV Financial Institution Transfer Execution (cover)
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The MT205COV moves on the funds of a cover payment within one country. The bank that received an MT202COV or MT205COV (or the ISO 20022 equivalent) sends it, directly or through correspondents, towards the beneficiary institution, where sender and receiver are in the same country. Like the MT202COV, sequence B repeats the underlying customer transfer.
What MT205COV is used for
The user header carries {119:COV} and the UETR in field 121. When an inward MT202COV leads to an onward MT205COV (or the other way round), field 21 and field 121 are passed on unchanged, so the beneficiary’s bank can match the cover to the customer payment it received.
The MT205COV must not be used for any other interbank transfer, must not carry a customer credit transfer instruction itself and must not be sent to the beneficiary institution just for reporting. For a plain bank-to-bank transfer in the same country the MT205 is used.
- Sent by
- The bank that received the cover payment
- Sent to
- The next bank in the same country, towards the beneficiary institution
MT205COV format: sequences and fields
Sequence AGeneral InformationMandatory
The bank-to-bank transfer. Block 3 must contain {119:COV} and field 121 (UETR).
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Transaction Reference Number | M | 16x | The sender’s reference for this message. |
| 21 | Related Reference | M | 16x | Reference of the underlying customer transfer, passed on unchanged from field 21 of the inward cover message. |
| 13C | Time IndicationRepeatable | O | /8c/4!n1!x4!n | A coded time instruction for the transfer, with the UTC offset. |
| 32A | Value Date, Currency Code, Amount | M | 6!n3!a15d | Value date, currency and amount transferred between the banks. |
| 52a | Ordering InstitutionOptions A or D | M | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The institution that ordered the cover transfer. |
| 53a | Sender’s CorrespondentOptions A, B or D | O | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] B: [/1!a][/34x] [35x] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The account or institution through which the sender reimburses the receiver. |
| 56a | IntermediaryOptions A or D | O | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | A bank between the receiver and the account with institution. Requires 57a. |
| 57a | Account With InstitutionOptions A, B or D | C | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] B: [/1!a][/34x] [35x] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The bank that holds the beneficiary institution’s account. Required when 56a is present. |
| 58a | Beneficiary InstitutionOptions A or D | M | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The institution to be credited with the cover funds, usually the beneficiary customer’s bank. |
| 72 | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35x | Coded information for the receiver about the transfer. |
Sequence BUnderlying Customer Credit Transfer DetailsMandatory
Repeats the customer side of the payment, from the original MT103 or pacs.008.
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50a | Ordering CustomerOptions A, F or K | M | A: [/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] F: 35x 4*(1!n/33x) K: [/34x] 4*35x | The customer who ordered the underlying payment. |
| 52a | Ordering InstitutionOptions A or D | O | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The ordering customer’s bank in the underlying payment. |
| 56a | Intermediary InstitutionOptions A, C or D | O | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] C: /34x D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | Intermediary in the underlying customer payment. Requires 57a in this sequence. |
| 57a | Account With InstitutionOptions A, B, C or D | C | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] B: [/1!a][/34x] [35x] C: /34x D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The beneficiary customer’s bank in the underlying payment. Required when 56a is present in this sequence. |
| 59a | Beneficiary CustomerOptions no letter, A or F | M | No letter: [/34x] 4*35x A: [/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] F: [/34x] 4*(1!n/33x) | The customer who receives the underlying payment. |
| 70 | Remittance Information | O | 4*35x | Remittance information from the underlying payment. |
| 72 | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35x | Field 72 information from the underlying payment. |
| 33B | Currency/Instructed Amount | O | 3!a15d | The instructed amount of the underlying payment, when it was given. |
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).
MT205COV in ISO 20022
The equivalent is the cover variant of pacs.009 (pacs.009 COV). Since 22 November 2025, an MT205COV still sent between banks is converted to pacs.009 COV by Swift’s contingency processing.
MT205COV questions
- What is the difference between MT202COV and MT205COV?
- Both carry the funds for a customer payment sent with the cover method. The MT205COV is the onward leg used when the sender and receiver are in the same country; otherwise the MT202COV is used.
- Which references must the MT205COV pass on?
- Field 21 and the UETR in block 3 field 121 of the inward cover message, both unchanged.
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