It is the Advice of Discrepancy: a message from the bank that received documents under a letter of credit to the issuing bank, listing what is wrong with the documents and asking for authorisation to pay, accept or negotiate them anyway.

What is the difference between MT750 and MT734?

The MT750 comes from the presenting or nominated bank and asks permission to pay despite discrepancies. The MT734 Advice of Refusal comes from the bank that refuses the documents, usually the issuing bank, and is the formal refusal notice under UCP 600.

What is the difference between MT750 and MT754?

An MT754 says documents complied and were paid, accepted or negotiated. An MT750 says they did not comply and asks whether they may be taken up. A presentation leads to one or the other.

How does the issuing bank answer an MT750?

With an MT752 Authorisation to Pay, Accept or Negotiate if it (usually after asking the applicant) accepts the discrepancies, and usually with an MT796 Answers if it does not.

Why is field 34B sometimes missing?

It is only required when the amount is adjusted, that is when 33B, 71D or 73A is present. Without adjustments the total is simply the principal amount in 32B.

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

MT750 Advice of Discrepancy

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

The MT750 is the Swift message a bank that has received documents under a documentary credit sends to the issuing bank when the documents do not comply with the credit terms. It lists the discrepancies and the amount of the drawing, and asks for authorisation to pay, accept or negotiate anyway. The issuing bank answers with an MT752 if it agrees, or usually with an MT796 if it does not.

Message type: MT750
Category: 7
Structure: 10 fields listed
ISO 20022: No direct equivalent

When MT750 is used

Under a documentary credit the beneficiary (the exporter) presents its documents to the nominated bank named in field 41a of the MT700, often the advising or confirming bank in its own country. That bank examines them against the credit. Under UCP 600 a bank has at most five banking days after the day of presentation to decide whether a presentation complies. When the documents comply, the bank pays, accepts or negotiates and reports it to the issuing bank with an MT754.

When the documents do not comply (a late shipment, an insurance certificate for the wrong amount, a port of loading that differs from field 44E, an invoice description that does not match field 45A), the nominated bank is not obliged to pay. In practice it often asks the beneficiary whether it may contact the issuing bank, then sends an MT750: here are the documents we hold, here is what is wrong with them, may we pay? The issuing bank in turn usually asks the applicant (the importer) whether it will accept the discrepancies. UCP 600 allows the issuing bank to approach the applicant for such a waiver.

The MT750 is the sender’s claim in advance. Field 32B is the principal amount of the drawing, 33B any extra amount the credit allows (insurance, freight), 71D the charges the sender deducts, 73A the charges it adds, and 34B the net amount it expects to receive if authorised. Field 57a says where that money should be paid. Field 77J lists each discrepancy, one per line.

The answer comes back in one of three ways. If the issuing bank (with the applicant’s agreement) accepts the documents, it sends an MT752 Authorisation to Pay, Accept or Negotiate, which quotes the MT750’s reference in field 21 and its date in field 30. A negative reply is usually sent as an MT796 Answers or a free format MT799. When the issuing bank itself refuses documents sent to it, the formal refusal notice is a different message, the MT734 Advice of Refusal.

The MT750 is not a refusal and does not by itself stop the clock or change who holds the documents. Banks agree the practical handling (documents held at the issuing bank’s disposal, or sent on a collection basis) in field 72Z or bilaterally.

MT750 format: sequences and fields

Message text (block 4)Mandatory

The MT750 has no sequences: block 4 is one list of fields, shown in the order of the SR 2025 structure. Fields with a z format may use the extended character set. Older templates use 71B, 73 and 72 (x character set) and a shorter 77J of 40 lines of 35 characters.

Tag	Name	Status	Format	Meaning
20	Sender's Reference	M	16x	The presenting bank’s own reference for this presentation, usually its bill or drawing number. The issuing bank quotes it back in field 21 of its MT752 or MT796. It must not start or end with a slash or contain two slashes in a row.
21	Related Reference	M	16x	When the message goes to the issuing bank: the documentary credit number from field 20 of the MT700. When it goes to another nominated bank: the credit number or another reference that bank will recognise.
32B	Principal Amount	M	3!a15d	The currency and amount of the drawing, that is the amount to be taken off the outstanding balance of the credit. Comma as the decimal mark.
33B	Additional Amount	O	3!a15d	Any extra amount the credit allows on top of the principal, for example insurance or freight covered by field 39C of the credit. It may be in a different currency from 32B; the conversion must then be explained in 72Z.
71D	Charges to be Deducted	O	6*35z	Charges the sender has taken off the amount of the drawing, such as its discrepancy fee or commission. The usual layout is one charge per line, a code between slashes followed by currency and amount, for example `/COMM/USD350,00`, with any free text on the last lines.
73A	Charges to be Added	O	6*35z	Charges the sender has added to the amount of the drawing and claims from the receiver, in the same line layout as 71D.
34B	Total Amount to be Paid	C	3!a15d	The total the sender expects to be remitted to it if the documents are taken up: principal, plus additional amounts and added charges, minus deducted charges. It must be present when 33B, 71D or 73A is present, and its currency must be the same as in 32B.
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 due should be paid in favour of the sender, typically the sender’s correspondent in the currency of the credit. When it is absent and the two banks have a direct account in that currency, that account is used.
72Z	Sender to Receiver Information	O	6*35z	Instructions or extra information for the issuing bank, for example that the documents are held pending its reply, or how a currency conversion in 33B was done. Codes, if any, go between slashes at the start of a line.
77J	Discrepancies	M	70*50z	The list of discrepancies found in the documents, written so the issuing bank and the applicant can decide whether to accept them. Each discrepancy usually starts on a new line and names the document and the credit term it breaks.

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).

Rules worth knowing

If 33B, 71D or 73A is present, 34B must also be present. The handbook gives this as rule C1 with error code C13 (in releases where the tags were 71B and 73).
The currency in 32B and 34B must be the same (error C02). 33B may be in another currency, with the conversion explained in 72Z.
Fields 20 and 21 must not start or end with a slash and must not contain two consecutive slashes (error T26).
In 71D, 73A and 72Z any code must sit between slashes at the start of a line; free text must not start with a slash and goes on the last lines of the field.
The MT750 asks for authorisation. It is not the issuing bank’s refusal notice under UCP 600: that is the MT734. A yes comes back as an MT752, a no usually as an MT796.

MT750 example

The credit is the one from the MT700 example: ZagTrader Test Bank, Dubai (ZAGTAEADXXX) issued credit ZTLC2610200001 for USD 250,000.00, available by payment at BANKGB2LXXX in London. On 10 November 2026 Acme Components Ltd presents documents for USD 248,500.00. BANKGB2LXXX finds two discrepancies, deducts its USD 350.00 commission and sends this MT750 to the issuing bank asking whether it may pay. It wants the money paid to its New York correspondent, BANKUS33XXX.

{1:F01BANKGB2LAXXX0000000000}{2:I750ZAGTAEADXXXXN}{4:
:20:BGLX2611100045
:21:ZTLC2610200001
:32B:USD248500,00
:71D:/COMM/USD350,00
:34B:USD248150,00
:57A:BANKUS33XXX
:72Z:DOCUMENTS HELD AT YOUR DISPOSAL
PENDING YOUR AUTHORISATION TO PAY
:77J:1. BILL OF LADING SHOWS PORT OF LOADING
SOUTHAMPTON INSTEAD OF FELIXSTOWE
2. INSURANCE CERTIFICATE COVERS 100 PCT OF
INVOICE VALUE INSTEAD OF 110 PCT
-}

Decode this example in the parser

Line by line

Line	What it says
{1:F01BANKGB2LAXXX0000000000}{2:I750ZAGTAEADXXXXN}{4:	Sender BANKGB2LXXX (the nominated bank holding the documents), receiver ZAGTAEADXXX (the issuing bank).
:20:BGLX2611100045	The presenting bank’s own reference for this drawing.
:21:ZTLC2610200001	The credit number from field 20 of the MT700.
:32B:USD248500,00	Amount of the drawing.
:71D:/COMM/USD350,00	Commission deducted by the presenting bank.
:34B:USD248150,00	Net amount to be paid: 248,500.00 minus 350.00. Required because 71D is present.
:57A:BANKUS33XXX	Pay the proceeds to this bank in favour of the sender.
:72Z:DOCUMENTS HELD AT YOUR DISPOSAL	Bank-to-bank information.
PENDING YOUR AUTHORISATION TO PAY
:77J:1. BILL OF LADING SHOWS PORT OF LOADING	The discrepancies, one per numbered line (at most 50 characters a line).
SOUTHAMPTON INSTEAD OF FELIXSTOWE
2. INSURANCE CERTIFICATE COVERS 100 PCT OF
INVOICE VALUE INSTEAD OF 110 PCT
-}	End of block 4.

The BICs, names and references are made up.

If the issuing bank and the applicant accept the discrepancies, the reply is an MT752 quoting BGLX2611100045 in field 21 and 261110 in field 30. See the MT752 example.

Common errors and rejects

34B missing when charges are present (C13)
The message has 33B, 71D or 73A but no 34B. Whenever the drawing amount is adjusted, the sender must state the net total it expects in 34B.
Different currencies in 32B and 34B (C02)
The total to be paid must be in the currency of the principal amount. If an additional amount in 33B is in another currency, convert it and explain the conversion in 72Z.
Old tags from an outdated template
A template that still produces 71B, 73 or 72 is rejected against the current structure, where the fields are 71D, 73A and 72Z. A 77J built for 40 lines of 35 characters still fits, but the field now allows 70 lines of 50.
Amount format
Amounts need a comma as decimal mark and no more decimals than the currency allows: USD248500,00, not USD248,500.00.
How to fix it
Vague discrepancy text
Not a network reject but the commonest delay: discrepancies such as "documents not as per credit" force the issuing bank to ask back. Name the document, what it shows and what the credit requires, one discrepancy per line.
Field 21 does not match the credit number
The issuing bank matches the MT750 to its credit by field 21. A typo or the presenting bank’s own file number here leaves the advice unmatched in the issuing bank’s trade system.

ISO 20022

There is no ISO 20022 equivalent of the MT750: Swift’s MT and MX equivalence tables (May 2024 edition) list none for it. Trade finance messages in category 7 were not part of the November 2025 end of MT/MX coexistence, which covered cross-border payment instructions, so discrepancy advices are still exchanged in MT format.

The money that follows does move in ISO 20022: when the drawing is finally paid or reimbursed, the bank-to-bank transfer is a pacs.009 on Swift, no longer an MT202.

MT750 questions

What is an MT750?: It is the Advice of Discrepancy: a message from the bank that received documents under a letter of credit to the issuing bank, listing what is wrong with the documents and asking for authorisation to pay, accept or negotiate them anyway.
What is the difference between MT750 and MT734?: The MT750 comes from the presenting or nominated bank and asks permission to pay despite discrepancies. The MT734 Advice of Refusal comes from the bank that refuses the documents, usually the issuing bank, and is the formal refusal notice under UCP 600.
What is the difference between MT750 and MT754?: An MT754 says documents complied and were paid, accepted or negotiated. An MT750 says they did not comply and asks whether they may be taken up. A presentation leads to one or the other.
How does the issuing bank answer an MT750?: With an MT752 Authorisation to Pay, Accept or Negotiate if it (usually after asking the applicant) accepts the discrepancies, and usually with an MT796 Answers if it does not.
Why is field 34B sometimes missing?: It is only required when the amount is adjusted, that is when 33B, 71D or 73A is present. Without adjustments the total is simply the principal amount in 32B.

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