What is the difference between MT734 and MT750?

The MT750 is sent by the presenting or nominated bank to the issuing bank to report discrepancies and ask whether it may pay anyway. The MT734 goes the other way: the issuing (or nominated) bank refuses the documents.

Can a bank add discrepancies after the MT734?

Under UCP 600 the refusal notice must state every discrepancy on which the refusal is based, so a bank generally cannot rely on a discrepancy that its refusal notice did not list.

Category 7: Documentary credits, guarantees and standby letters of credit

MT734 Advice of Refusal

Written and maintained by ZagTrader. Last reviewed 21 October 2026. How this page is sourced and checked

The MT734 is the refusal notice for documents presented under a documentary credit. The issuing bank, or a nominated bank, sends it to the bank that presented the documents to say it refuses them, to list every discrepancy and to state what it is doing with the documents. It can also claim back an amount already paid.

Message type: MT734
Category: 7
Status: In the current standard
ISO 20022: No direct equivalent

What MT734 is used for

Under UCP 600 a bank that refuses a presentation must give a single notice stating each discrepancy and what it does with the documents, no later than the fifth banking day after the day of presentation. The MT734 is the Swift form of that notice: field 77J lists the discrepancies and field 77B states the disposal of the documents.

Field 77B can start with a code: HOLD (held pending the presenter’s instructions), NOTIFY (held until the applicant’s waiver is received and accepted, unless the presenter instructs otherwise first), PREVINST (acting on the presenter’s earlier instructions) or RETURN (documents are being returned). If the issuing bank later takes up the documents after a waiver, it sends an MT732.

When the refusing bank had already reimbursed or been debited, it can claim the money back in the same message: field 73A lists any charges and field 33a the total amount claimed.

Sent by: The issuing bank, or a nominated bank
Sent to: The bank that presented the documents

MT734 format: sequences and fields

Message text (block 4)Mandatory

No sequences. Network rules: if 73A is present, 33a must be present; 32A and 33a must use the same currency.

Tag	Name	Status	Format	Meaning
20	Sender's TRN	M	16x	From the issuing bank, the credit number; from another bank, the credit number or its own reference.
21	Presenting Bank's Reference	M	16x	The reference of the bank that presented the documents.
32A	Date and Amount of Utilisation	M	6!n3!a15d	The date of the presenting bank’s covering letter, then the currency and amount of the drawing.
73A	Charges Claimed	O	6*35z	Charges the refusing bank claims, if any.
33a	Total Amount ClaimedOptions A or B	C	A: 6!n3!a15d B: 3!a15d	The total the sender claims back, including charges. Option A when the amount has been debited (with the value date), option B when reimbursement is requested. Required when 73A is present.
57a	Account With BankOptions 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 bank where the amount claimed should be paid in favour of the sender.
72Z	Sender to Receiver Information	O	6*35z	Further information for the receiver.
77J	Discrepancies	M	70*50z	Every reason for refusing the documents. Discrepancies not listed here cannot be raised later.
77B	Disposal of Documents	M	3*35x	What the bank does with the refused documents, usually a code between slashes: HOLD, NOTIFY, PREVINST or RETURN.

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).

Decode an MT734 in the parser

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.

MT734 questions

What is the difference between MT734 and MT750?: The MT750 is sent by the presenting or nominated bank to the issuing bank to report discrepancies and ask whether it may pay anyway. The MT734 goes the other way: the issuing (or nominated) bank refuses the documents.
Can a bank add discrepancies after the MT734?: Under UCP 600 the refusal notice must state every discrepancy on which the refusal is based, so a bank generally cannot rely on a discrepancy that its refusal notice did not list.

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