Category 7: Documentary credits, guarantees and standby letters of credit
MT730 Acknowledgement
Written and maintained by ZagTrader. Last reviewed . How this page is sourced and checked
The MT730 is the acknowledgement message for documentary credits. The bank that received a credit message, usually the advising bank, sends it back to the sender to confirm receipt and, where relevant, that it has acted on it. It can also claim the receiving bank’s charges and tell the issuing bank whether the beneficiary accepted or rejected an amendment.
- Message type
- MT730
- Category
- 7
- Status
- In the current standard
- ISO 20022
- No direct equivalent
What MT730 is used for
After advising an MT700 to the beneficiary, the advising bank typically sends an MT730 to the issuing bank quoting the credit number in field 21 and the date of issue in field 30. If it wants its advising charges paid, it adds the amount in field 32a: option B asks for reimbursement, option D says the charges have already been debited on the date given.
Under UCP 600 an amendment binds the beneficiary only once it accepts it. The advising bank uses the MT730 to pass on that answer, with field 72Z stating whether the beneficiary accepted or rejected the amendment. For guarantees and standbys the equivalent acknowledgement is the MT768, and the beneficiary’s answer to a guarantee amendment has its own message, the MT787.
- Sent by
- The bank that received the credit message, usually the advising bank
- Sent to
- The bank that sent it, usually the issuing bank
MT730 format: sequences and fields
Message text (block 4)Mandatory
No sequences. Network rules: field 25 or field 57a may be present, not both; if field 32D is used, field 57a must not be present.
| Tag | Name | Status | Format | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Sender's Reference | M | 16x | The sending bank’s own reference for this acknowledgement. |
| 21 | Receiver's Reference | M | 16x | Field 20 of the message being acknowledged, usually the credit number. |
| 25 | Account Identification | C | 35x | The account on the sender’s books used to settle the charges. Not allowed together with 57a. |
| 30 | Date of Message Being Acknowledged | M | 6!n | For an acknowledged MT700, the date of issue of the credit; otherwise the date the acknowledged message was sent (YYMMDD). |
| 32a | Amount of ChargesOptions B or D | O | B: 3!a15d D: 6!n3!a15d | The total charges claimed by the sender. Option B asks for reimbursement; option D gives the value date on which they were already debited. |
| 57a | Account With BankOptions A or D | C | A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x | The bank where the charges should be paid in favour of the sender. Not allowed with 25 or with 32D. |
| 71D | Charges | O | 6*35z | Details of the charges, as narrative or as codes between slashes followed by currency and amount. |
| 72Z | Sender to Receiver Information | O | 6*35z | Further information for the receiver. When the MT730 reports the beneficiary’s answer to an amendment, it goes here. |
| 79Z | Narrative | O | 35*50z | Free text about the acknowledgement. |
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 in general use. Documentary credit messages in category 7 were not part of the November 2025 move of cross-border payment instructions to ISO 20022 and are still exchanged as MT on Swift.
MT730 questions
- Does an MT730 mean the credit was confirmed?
- No. The MT730 acknowledges receipt and can account for charges. A confirming bank’s commitment comes from its own confirmation to the beneficiary, not from the acknowledgement.
All MT messages · Category 7 messages · ISO 20022 messages · Codes · Troubleshooting