Category 4: Collections and cash letters
MT456 Advice of Dishonour
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The MT456 tells the account owner that one or more financial documents (typically cheques) in a cash letter it sent have been dishonoured, and that its account has been debited. The account servicing institution sends it, with the reason for each dishonour and whether the item is being returned or re-presented to the drawee.
- Message type
- MT456
- Category
- 4
- Status
- In the current standard
- ISO 20022
- No direct equivalent
What MT456 is used for
The cash letter was credited under usual reserve, advised with an MT450. When an item comes back unpaid, the correspondent reverses it with an MT456: field 32a is the face amount of the item, 71B any fees, and 33D the total debited, which is the face amount plus fees. Field 72 can carry REPR (re-presented to the drawee) or RETURN (returned to you).
Up to ten dishonoured items can be advised in one message, all in the same currency. If fees are charged, the amounts in 32a and 33D must differ (rule C2, error C49).
- Sent by
- The account servicing institution (the correspondent)
- Sent to
- The account owner that sent the cash letter
MT456 format: sequences and fields
Fields before the repetitive partMandatory
Appear once, at the start of the message.
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Account Identification | O | 35x | The account debited. Without it, the owner’s general or only account with the sender is meant. |
| 52a | Sender of Cash LetterOptions 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 branch or affiliate of the account owner that sent the cash letter, when it was not the account owner itself. |
| 72 | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35x | Additional information. Codes REPR (being re-presented to the drawee) and RETURN (being returned to you) can be used. |
Repetitive part (one per dishonoured item)Mandatory, repeatable
Repeated up to ten times (rule C1, error T10). The currency in 32a and 33D must be the same throughout (rule C3, error C02).
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Transaction Reference Number | M | 16x | The sender’s reference for this advice. |
| 21 | Related Reference | M | 16x | The account owner’s reference of the original cash letter or document, or NONREF if it is not known. |
| 32a | Date and Face Amount of Financial DocumentOptions A or B | M | A: 6!n3!a15d B: 3!a15d | Currency and face amount of the dishonoured item. Option A adds the date of the document when it is known. |
| 33D | Total Amount Debited | M | 6!n3!a15d | Value date, currency and total debited: the face amount plus any fees in 71B. |
| 71B | Fee | O | 6*35x | Fees charged for the dishonoured item, with codes such as COMM or POST followed by currency and amount. |
| 77A | Reason for Dishonour | M | 20*35x | Each item dishonoured, with its amount and the reason. |
| 77D | Details of Dishonoured Item | M | 6*35x | Details that help identify the item: drawer, drawee, payee, document number and similar. |
| 72 | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35x | Additional information about this item. |
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).
ISO 20022
No ISO 20022 equivalent: Swift’s MT and MX equivalence table lists none for this message. Collection and cash letter messages in category 4 were not part of the CBPR+ migration of cross-border payment instructions and remain MT messages on Swift.
MT456 questions
- What is the difference between MT455 and MT456?
- Both correct an earlier cash letter credit. The MT456 is for items dishonoured (returned unpaid) by the drawee; the MT455 is for other adjustments, such as a miscalculation or a missing item.
- Why does field 33D differ from 32a?
- 33D is the total debited, which is the face amount in 32a plus any fees in 71B. When 71B is present the two amounts must differ.
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