Category 6: Commodities and reference data
MT606 Commodity Debit Advice
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The MT606 tells a commodity account owner that its account has been debited. The institution that services the commodity account sends it to the account owner, or its authorised agent, after it has booked a quantity of metal or other commodity out of the account.
- Message type
- MT606
- Category
- 6
- Status
- In the current standard
- ISO 20022
- No direct equivalent
What MT606 is used for
The debit usually results from an MT604 transfer or delivery order or from the settlement of a commodity trade confirmed with an MT600; field 21 carries the reference of that transaction. The advice shows the commodity and account, the value date, the quantity debited and the parties the commodity went to.
It is the commodity equivalent of the MT900 for cash accounts. Credits are advised with the MT607, and all bookings appear in the MT608 statement.
- Sent by
- The institution that services the commodity account
- Sent to
- The commodity account owner or its authorised agent
MT606 format: sequences and fields
Message text (block 4)Mandatory
No sequences.
| 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 that caused the debit, for example the account owner’s MT604. |
| 26C | Identification of the Commodity and the Commodity Account | M | [3!a]/15x/5!a4!a[4x][//8x] | The commodity and the account the Sender services for the Receiver that has been debited. |
| 25 | Further Account Identification | O | 35x | More detail on the account that has been debited. |
| 26D | Certificate Number(s) and/or Bar Number(s) | O | 30*65x | The bar or certificate numbers of the commodity that was debited. |
| 30 | Value Date | M | 6!n | The date, as YYMMDD, on which the commodity was debited. |
| 32F | Quantity of the Commodity | M | 3!a15d | The unit and quantity debited from the account. |
| 82a | Instructing PartyOptions A or D | O | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The party that instructed the Sender to carry out the transaction, when it is not the Receiver. |
| 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 or D | O | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The party to which the commodity was delivered or transferred. |
| 88a | Beneficiary of the CommodityOptions A or D | O | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The final beneficiary of the commodity. |
| 72 | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35x | Further information for the Receiver. |
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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