MT707 Amendment to a Documentary Credit

When MT707 is used

Letters of credit are amended all the time: shipment slips, so the latest shipment date and the expiry move; the buyer orders more, so the amount goes up; a document is added or dropped. The applicant asks the issuing bank, the issuing bank sends an MT707 to the advising bank, and the advising bank advises the amendment to the beneficiary. When the credit was passed on by an MT710 or transferred by an MT720, the bank in the middle sends its own MT707 to the next bank, quoting the issuing bank and its credit number.

Under UCP 600 article 10 an irrevocable credit can be amended or cancelled only with the agreement of the issuing bank, any confirming bank and the beneficiary. Until the beneficiary accepts, the original terms still apply to it, and accepting only part of an amendment counts as a rejection. Field 22A says what the sender is doing: ISSU when the issuing bank issues the amendment, ADVI when an advising bank passes it on, ACNF when it passes it on and adds its confirmation to the amendment. A cancellation is an amendment too: field 23S carries CANCEL.

The November 2018 release (SR2018) rebuilt the message. Before it, an MT707 had a handful of “new” fields and a 79 narrative that described everything else. Since then every term of the MT700 that can change has its own field in the MT707: applicable rules (40E), expiry (31D), applicant (50), beneficiary (59), tolerance (39A), availability (41a), drafts and payment terms (42C, 42a, 42M, 42P), shipment (43P to 44D), confirmation (49, 58a), reimbursing bank (53a) and so on. Only the fields that change are sent. Field 34B (new amount after amendment) and 79 were removed, and the long text fields became 45B, 46B, 47B, 49M and 49N, which carry the codes /ADD/, /DELETE/ and /REPALL/ to say how the text changes.

Field 23 carries the issuing bank’s credit number, mandatory since 2018, so that every bank in a chain can match the amendment to the credit even when field 20 and 21 hold other banks’ references. Field 26E numbers amendments from 1 to 999, and 31C repeats the original date of issue.

When the changes do not fit in one message, the rest of the 45B, 46B, 47B, 49M and 49N text goes in one or more MT708 messages, with field 27 numbering the series. The advising bank usually acknowledges the amendment with an MT730, and questions with no dedicated message go in an MT799.

MT707 format: sequences and fields

Rules worth knowing

• At least one field must follow field 22A: an MT707 that only identifies the credit is rejected.
• Either 32B (increase) or 33B (decrease) may be present, not both. Both carry the change, never the new total: the new amount after amendment (old field 34B) was removed in 2018.
• Fields 52a and 50B identify the issuer of the credit; they are alternatives and may not both be present.
• Terms that the MT707 does not mention stay unchanged. Repeating unchanged terms makes the amendment harder to read and can be taken as a change.
• In 45B, 46B, 47B, 49M and 49N each change starts with /ADD/, /DELETE/ or /REPALL/. REPALL replaces the whole field text as it stands after all earlier amendments, so it should hold the complete new text.
• Information given in a field of the MT707 must not be repeated in an MT708, and nothing in an MT708 may conflict with the MT707.
• Keep the credit as amended consistent with the MT700 combination rules: 42C with 42a, or 42M alone, or 42P alone; and either a latest shipment date (44C) or a shipment period (44D), not both.

MT707 example

The pump shipment under credit ZTLC2610200001 (see the MT700 example) is delayed. Gulf Trading LLC asks ZagTrader Test Bank (ZAGTAEADXXX) to extend the latest shipment date to 15 January 2027 and the expiry to 28 February 2027, to increase the credit by USD 25,000.00 for 50 extra pumps, and to add a beneficiary’s certificate to the documents. The issuing bank sends amendment number 1 to the advising bank BANKGB2LXXX. The applicant pays the amendment charges.

{1:F01ZAGTAEADAXXX0000000000}{2:I707BANKGB2LXXXXN}{4:
:27:1/1
:20:ZTAM2611050001
:21:ADVLC26001234
:23:ZTLC2610200001
:31C:261020
:26E:1
:30:261105
:22A:ISSU
:31D:270228LONDON
:32B:USD25000,00
:44C:270115
:45B:/ADD/+50 ADDITIONAL INDUSTRIAL PUMPS MODEL ZP-200 AS PER
PROFORMA INVOICE PI-2026-131 DATED 02 NOV 2026
:46B:/ADD/+BENEFICIARY CERTIFICATE STATING THAT ONE SET OF
NON-NEGOTIABLE DOCUMENTS HAS BEEN SENT TO THE APPLICANT BY
COURIER WITHIN 5 DAYS AFTER SHIPMENT
:71N:APPL
:72Z:/PHONBEN/
-}

Line by line

The BICs, names and references are made up.

Everything not mentioned (amount tolerance, ports, presentation period, confirmation and so on) stays as in the original MT700. Because BANKGB2LXXX confirmed the credit, it must decide whether to extend its confirmation to the amendment and tell the beneficiary.

The beneficiary can accept or reject the amendment as a whole. Until it does, the original credit terms still apply to it.

Common errors and rejects

1. Both 32B and 33B present, or the new total sent

   An amendment either increases or decreases the amount, and the field holds the difference. Sending the new total in 32B (for example USD275000,00 for an increase of 25,000) silently overstates the credit at the advising bank.

2. Nothing after 22A

   An MT707 that identifies the credit but carries no changed field fails validation. Every amendment, including a cancellation request with 23S, must carry at least one field after 22A.

3. Text changes without ADD, DELETE or REPALL

   A 46B that just lists the documents again, without a code, is unclear: is it added, replacing, or a restatement? Start each change with /ADD/, /DELETE/ or /REPALL/, and use REPALL only with the complete new text.

4. Pre-2018 template still in use

   Fields 31E (new date of expiry), 34B (new amount), 39B and 79 no longer exist, and 23, 26E, 30 and 31C are mandatory. Templates built before November 2018 that still produce them are rejected; update the template rather than each message.

5. Issuing bank and non-bank issuer both given

   52a and 50B are alternatives. An advising bank passing on an amendment names the issuing bank in 52a, or the non-bank issuer in 50B, never both.

6. Amount format in 32B or 33B

   The amount needs a comma as the decimal mark and no thousands separators: USD25000,00, not USD25,000.00.

   How to fix it

ISO 20022

There is no ISO 20022 replacement for the MT707 in use on the Swift network. Documentary credit messages in category 7 were not part of the November 2025 move of payment instructions to ISO 20022 and are still exchanged in MT format.

Swift’s MT and MX equivalence table (May 2024) gives no ISO 20022 equivalent for the MT707, nor for any other documentary credit message. The ISO 20022 trade services set covers guarantees and standbys (the MT767 maps to tsrv.005), not commercial documentary credits. Payments made under the credit, however, travel as ISO 20022 payment messages such as pacs.009.

Related messages

• MT700Issue of a Documentary Credit
• MT708Amendment to a Documentary Credit
• MT730Acknowledgement
• MT710Advice of a Third Bank's or a Non-Bank's Documentary Credit
• MT720Transfer of a Documentary Credit
• MT767Amendment to a Demand Guarantee / Standby Letter of Credit

MT707 questions

What is an MT707?

It is the Swift message used to amend a documentary credit (letter of credit). The issuing bank sends it to the advising bank, which advises the change to the beneficiary. It can change any term of the credit, or request its cancellation.

What is the difference between MT700 and MT707?

The MT700 issues the credit with all its terms. The MT707 changes some of those terms later and carries only the fields that change, together with the credit number (23), the amendment number (26E) and the amendment date (30).

What is an MT708?

The MT708 is the continuation of an MT707. When the changes to the goods, documents, conditions or special payment conditions are too long for one message, the rest goes in one or more MT708 with the same references.

How do you cancel a letter of credit by Swift?

The issuing bank sends an MT707 with :23S:CANCEL. Under UCP 600 the cancellation of an irrevocable credit needs the agreement of the beneficiary and of any confirming bank, so it takes effect only once they consent.

What do ADD, DELETE and REPALL mean in field 46B?

They say how the text changes. /ADD/ adds the text that follows, /DELETE/ removes it, and /REPALL/ replaces the whole field, as amended so far, with the text that follows. The same codes are used in 45B, 47B, 49M and 49N.

Does the beneficiary have to accept an MT707 amendment?

Yes, for it to bind the beneficiary. Under UCP 600 article 10 the beneficiary stays bound by the original terms until it accepts the amendment, and partial acceptance counts as rejection. Presenting documents that comply with the amended credit is treated as acceptance.