Category 6: Commodities and reference data
MT604 Commodity Transfer/Delivery Order
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The MT604 is the instruction to move a commodity out of an account. The owner of a commodity account, or its authorised agent, sends it to the institution that services the account, asking it to transfer the commodity by book entry or to deliver it physically to a named beneficiary.
- Message type
- MT604
- Category
- 6
- Status
- In the current standard
- ISO 20022
- No direct equivalent
What MT604 is used for
The first part of the message names the commodity and the account to be debited (field 26C) and the value date; these apply to every order in the message. The repetitive part then gives one order per occurrence, from one to ten: whether it is a book-entry transfer or a physical delivery (field 23), the quantity with its unit, any bar or certificate numbers, and the parties down to the beneficiary in field 88a.
All orders in one MT604 must be for the same commodity, the same account and the same value date. The receiving side of the movement is announced with an MT605, and the account servicer reports the result with an MT606 debit advice and in the MT608 statement.
- Sent by
- The commodity account owner or its authorised agent
- Sent to
- The institution that services the commodity account
MT604 format: sequences and fields
Common detailsMandatory
Applies to every order in the message.
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26C | Identification of the Commodity and the Commodity Account | M | [3!a]/15x/5!a4!a[4x][//8x] | The commodity and the account to be debited: delivery details, delivery location, allocated or unallocated (ALLOC or UNALL), the commodity or coin code such as GOLD or SILV, and optionally denomination and form. |
| 25 | Further Account Identification | O | 35x | More detail on the commodity account to be debited, when field 26C is not enough. |
| 30 | Value Date | M | 6!n | The date, as YYMMDD, on which the commodity is to be transferred or delivered. |
| 72 | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35x | Further information for the Receiver that applies to the whole message. |
Transfer or delivery orderMandatory, repeatable
Present at least once and at most ten times (network validated rule).
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Transaction Reference Number | M | 16x | The Sender’s own reference for the commodity transaction. It must not start or end with a slash or contain two slashes together. |
| 21 | Related Reference | M | 16x | The reference of the transaction this order relates to, such as the trade it settles. |
| 23 | Further Identification | M | 16x | Whether the commodity is physically delivered (DELIVERY) or transferred by book entry (TRANSFER). |
| 26D | Certificate Number(s) and/or Bar Number(s) | O | 30*65x | The bar or certificate numbers of the commodity to be moved, when the metal is identified by item. |
| 32F | Quantity of the Commodity | M | 3!a15d | The unit (for example FOZ fine troy ounce or KLO kilo) and the quantity to transfer or deliver. |
| 82a | Instructing PartyOptions 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 party that started the transaction, when it is not the Sender. |
| 86a | IntermediaryOptions 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 | An intermediary institution in the chain through which the commodity moves. |
| 87a | Receiver of the CommodityOptions 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 party that receives the commodity for the beneficiary, when it is not the Receiver of the message. |
| 88a | Beneficiary of the CommodityOptions A, B or D | M | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] B: [/1!a][/34x] [35x] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The party in whose favour the commodity is transferred or delivered. |
| 72 | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35x | Further information that applies only to this order. |
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 tables list none for the category 6 commodity messages. Category 6 was not part of the November 2025 move of cross-border payment instructions to ISO 20022, so the message is still exchanged as MT on Swift.
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