It is the Swift message used to issue a demand guarantee or a standby letter of credit, or to advise one. The issuing bank sends it to the advising bank, which passes it to the beneficiary. It can also carry a counter-guarantee asking another bank to issue its own local guarantee.

What is the difference between MT760 and MT700?

The MT700 issues a documentary credit, which pays when the seller presents shipping and commercial documents. The MT760 issues a guarantee or standby, which pays on a demand, typically when the applicant has not performed. Since November 2021 standbys are issued with the MT760.

What is the difference between MT760 and MT799?

The MT760 is the operative guarantee instrument with a fixed structure. The MT799 is a free format message between banks: it can carry a pre-advice or a question, but it does not issue a guarantee and does not bind the bank to pay.

What changed in MT760 in November 2021?

The message moved from one free text field (77C) to three sequences with coded fields: purpose of message, form of undertaking, rules, expiry type, parties, amount, demand and transfer indicators, and a separate sequence for a requested local guarantee. New messages such as the MT761, MT765, MT785, MT786 and MT787 were added at the same time.

What is an ISCO counter-guarantee?

With 22A ISCO the sender issues a counter-guarantee in favour of the receiving bank and asks it to issue a local guarantee to the final beneficiary. Sequence B describes the counter-guarantee and sequence C the local guarantee. If the local bank pays the beneficiary, it claims under the counter-guarantee.

Can an MT760 be bought, leased or monetised?

No. An MT760 is a message between two banks that issues or advises a guarantee for a named applicant and beneficiary and a specific obligation. It is not a security and has no value apart from that obligation. Offers to sell or lease one do not match how guarantees work.

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

MT760 Issue of a Demand Guarantee / Standby Letter of Credit

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

The MT760 is the Swift message a bank uses to issue a demand guarantee or a standby letter of credit, to advise one, or to issue a counter-guarantee that asks another bank to issue its own local guarantee. The issuing bank sends it to the advising bank, or to the beneficiary when the beneficiary is itself a bank. Since November 2021 it has a structured layout of three sequences in place of the old single block of free text.

Message type: MT760
Category: 7
Structure: 3 sequences, 71 fields listed
ISO 20022: tsrv.001

When MT760 is used

A demand guarantee or a standby letter of credit is a bank’s promise to pay the beneficiary on a complying demand, usually because the applicant has not done what it promised: repay an advance, perform a contract, pay a supplier. The applicant (for example a contractor) asks its bank to issue it. The bank becomes the issuer, named in field 52a, and sends the MT760 to a bank in the beneficiary’s country, which checks that the message is authentic and advises the guarantee to the beneficiary. Field 22A says which of these roles the message plays: ISSU when the sender issues the undertaking itself, ADVI or ACNF when a bank passes on an undertaking it received (ACNF adding its own confirmation).

Counter-guarantees use sequence C. In many countries the beneficiary, often a public body, will only accept a guarantee from a local bank under local law. The applicant’s bank then issues a counter-guarantee in favour of a local bank and asks it to issue its own guarantee to the beneficiary. In the MT760 this is purpose code ISCO: sequence B describes the counter-guarantee (the local bank is its beneficiary) and sequence C describes the local guarantee the receiver is asked to issue, with its own applicant, beneficiary, amount, expiry, rules and wording (77L, or the local bank’s standard wording when 22Y is STND). When a third bank sits in the middle, the first bank uses ICCO: it issues a counter-counter-guarantee and asks the receiver to issue a counter-guarantee to the local bank.

Three layers of rules apply. The ICC rules the undertaking is subject to are coded in field 40C: URDG for the Uniform Rules for Demand Guarantees (URDG 758), ISPR for the International Standby Practices (ISP98), UCPR for UCP 600, NONE or OTHR. The governing law goes in 44J. The commercial terms that do not have a field of their own, such as the exact wording of the demand and any reduction clause, go in 77U. Under both URDG 758 and ISP98 the bank deals only with documents and the demand, not with the underlying contract: a demand that complies is paid even if the applicant disputes the default.

The November 2021 release (SR 2021, live on 21 November 2021) replaced the old MT760, which carried the whole guarantee in one narrative field 77C, with sequences A (general information), B (undertaking details) and C (local undertaking details), and added a family of new messages: MT761 for long texts (up to seven per MT760), MT765 for a demand, MT785 for a notice of non-extension, MT786 for a demand refusal, MT787 for the answer to an amendment, and new layouts for the amendment MT767, the acknowledgement MT768 and the reduction or release MT769. Standby letters of credit are now issued in the MT760 rather than the MT700. Later releases adjusted details: field 39F (Supplementary Information About Amount), a beneficiary’s bank (57a) in sequence C, a country subdivision in the governing law field 44J and a longer 24G.

What an MT760 is not. It is not a tradable instrument and it is not money. A genuine MT760 is an authenticated message between two banks that have exchanged keys, issued for a named applicant in favour of a named beneficiary to secure a real obligation described in 45L. It cannot be bought, leased, sold or “monetised”, and the beneficiary can transfer it only if the guarantee itself says it is transferable (48D TRAN) and under its own terms. Offers that promise to deliver an MT760 for a fee, or to raise finance by sending one to a stranger’s bank, do not describe how guarantees work; operations teams treat them as a fraud warning sign.

MT760 format: sequences and fields

Sequence AGeneral InformationMandatory

Says what the message is for. Field 15A (and 15B, 15C below) is an empty marker that opens the sequence.

Tag	Name	Status	Format	Meaning
15A	New Sequence	M	Empty field	Marks the start of sequence A. It has no content: the line is just `:15A:`.
27	Sequence of Total	M	1!n/1!n	This message’s number and the total in the series. `1/1` means no MT761 follows; `1/3` means two MT761 messages carry more of the terms.
22A	Purpose of Message	M	4!c	What the sender is doing: ISSU (issuing the undertaking), ISCO (issuing a counter-undertaking and asking the receiver to issue a local undertaking), ICCO (issuing a counter-counter-undertaking and asking for a counter-undertaking), ADVI (advising an undertaking issued by another party) or ACNF (advising it and adding confirmation).
72Z	Sender to Receiver Information	O	6*35z	Bank-to-bank remarks that are not part of the guarantee, for example how to contact the beneficiary.
23X	File Identification	O	4!c/65x	When a related file travels outside this message (for example a scanned guarantee text sent by another channel), a code for the channel and the file name or reference.

Sequence BUndertaking DetailsMandatory

The guarantee or standby itself, or for ISCO and ICCO the counter-undertaking issued to the receiver.

Tag	Name	Status	Format	Meaning
15B	New Sequence	M	Empty field	Marks the start of sequence B. No content.
20	Undertaking Number	M	16x	The issuer’s number for the guarantee or standby. Every later message about it (MT761, MT767, MT765, MT769, MT785...) quotes it.
30	Date of Issue	M	6!n	The date (YYMMDD) on which the undertaking is issued.
22D	Form of Undertaking	M	4!c	DGAR for a demand guarantee or STBY for a standby letter of credit.
40C	Applicable Rules	M	4!a[/35x]	The rules the undertaking is subject to: URDG (URDG 758), ISPR (ISP98), UCPR (UCP 600), NONE (no rules) or OTHR, with the rules named after the slash.
23B	Expiry Type	M	4!c	FIXD (a fixed expiry date, with or without automatic extension), COND (expiry linked to an event or document, possibly with a date as well) or OPEN (no expiry date).
31E	Date of Expiry	O	6!n	The expiry date (YYMMDD). Given when 23B is FIXD, and possible with COND.
35G	Expiry Condition/Event	O	12*65x	The event or document that ends the undertaking when 23B is COND, for example the issue of a taking-over certificate.
50	Applicant	O	4*35x	The party on whose behalf the undertaking is issued, typically the seller or contractor whose performance it secures.
51	Obligor/Instructing Party	O	4*35x	The party that instructed the issue and is liable to the issuer, when it is not the applicant, for example a parent company issuing for a subsidiary.
52a	IssuerOptions A or D	M	A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x	The bank that issues the undertaking (or the counter-undertaking). Named even when it is the sender.
59a	BeneficiaryOptions No letter option or A	M	No letter option: [/34x] 4*35x A: [/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c]	The party in whose favour the undertaking is issued. For a counter-guarantee (ISCO) this is the local bank, often identified by BIC with option A.
56a	Advising BankOptions A or D	O	A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x	The bank asked to advise the undertaking to the beneficiary, normally the receiver of the message.
23	Advising Bank Reference	O	16x	The advising bank’s own reference, used when a bank passes on an undertaking it has advised (ADVI or ACNF).
57a	'Advise Through' BankOptions A or D	O	A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x	A second bank through which the advising bank should pass the undertaking on, usually the beneficiary’s own bank.
32B	Undertaking Amount	M	3!a15d	Currency and maximum amount of the undertaking, with a comma as the decimal mark: `EUR1500000,00`.
39F	Supplementary Information About Amount	O	12*65z	Anything more about the amount: interest or costs covered, or an amount that reduces or increases over time.
41a	Available With...Options F or G	O	F: 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] G: 4*35x	For standbys only: the bank where the demand may be presented, by BIC (F) or by name and address (G). Not allowed for a demand guarantee (DGAR).
71D	Charges	O	6*35z	Which charges are for the beneficiary’s account, in words.
45C	Document and Presentation Instructions	O	100*65z	What the demand must contain or be accompanied by (for example a statement of breach) and how and where it must be presented.
77U	Undertaking Terms and Conditions	M	150*65z	Every term of the undertaking that has no field of its own: the guarantee wording, reduction clauses, special conditions. It must not repeat or contradict the coded fields. Long texts continue in field 77U of one or more MT761.
49	Confirmation Instructions	O	7!x	For standbys: whether a bank is asked to confirm: CONFIRM, MAY ADD or WITHOUT.
58a	Requested Confirmation PartyOptions A or D	O	A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x	The bank asked to confirm, or allowed to confirm, a standby when 49 is CONFIRM or MAY ADD.
44J	Governing Law and/or Place of Jurisdiction	O	2!a[/35x] [/65x]	The country whose law governs the undertaking, as an ISO country code, with an optional country subdivision and a narrative line for the place of jurisdiction.
23F	Automatic Extension Period	O	4!a[/35x]	For an undertaking that extends itself unless the issuer gives notice: DAYS (a number of calendar days), ONEY (one year) or OTHR (described after the slash).
78	Automatic Extension Non-Extension Notification	O	12*65x	How and to whom the issuer will give notice that it will not extend the undertaking again.
26E	Automatic Extension Notification Period	O	3n	The number of calendar days before expiry by which a notice of non-extension must be given, for example `30`.
31S	Automatic Extension Final Expiry Date	O	6!n	The date beyond which the undertaking will never be extended automatically.
48B	Demand Indicator	O	4!c	Limits on demands: NMLT (no multiple demands), NPRT (no partial demands) or NMPT (neither). If absent, partial and multiple demands are allowed.
48D	Transfer Indicator	O	4!c	TRAN when the undertaking is transferable. If absent it is not transferable.
39E	Transfer Conditions	O	12*65z	Conditions that apply to a transfer when 48D is TRAN.
45L	Underlying Transaction Details	O	50*65z	The contract or obligation the undertaking secures, for example a supply contract number and its subject. Used for screening as well as for the record. For ISCO and ICCO it goes in sequence C instead.
24E	Delivery of Original Undertaking	O	4!c[/35x]	How a paper original is delivered, as a code such as COLL (collection), COUR (courier), MAIL or REGM (registered mail), with optional detail after the slash.
24G	Delivery To/Collection By	O	4!c [12*65z]	Who receives or collects the paper original: a code (for example BENE for the beneficiary) and, where needed, a name and address.

Sequence CLocal Undertaking DetailsOptional

Present only when 22A is ISCO or ICCO: the guarantee or standby the receiver is asked to issue locally to the final beneficiary.

Tag	Name	Status	Format	Meaning
15C	New Sequence	M	Empty field	Marks the start of sequence C. No content.
31C	Requested Date of Issue	O	6!n	The date on which the local undertaking should be issued, if it matters.
22D	Form of Undertaking	M	4!c	Form of the local undertaking: DGAR, STBY or DEPU (a dependent undertaking such as a surety bond, which pays only if the obligation is proven).
40C	Applicable Rules	M	4!a[/35x]	The rules for the local undertaking, with the same codes as in sequence B.
22K	Type of Undertaking	O	4!c[/35x]	What kind of guarantee is requested (for example an advance payment or performance guarantee), as a code with optional text. Mainly used with 22Y, so the local bank knows which of its standard texts to use.
23B	Expiry Type	M	4!c	FIXD, COND or OPEN for the local undertaking.
31E	Date of Expiry	O	6!n	Expiry date of the local undertaking. It is usually earlier than the expiry of the counter-guarantee, so that the local bank still has time to claim under the counter-guarantee after paying.
35G	Expiry Condition/Event	O	12*65x	The expiry event when 23B is COND.
50	Applicant	M	4*35x	The party on whose behalf the local undertaking is issued, normally the same applicant as behind the counter-guarantee.
51	Obligor/Instructing Party	O	4*35x	The party liable to the local issuer when it is not the applicant.
52a	IssuerOptions A or D	O	A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x	The bank that will issue the local undertaking, when it is not the receiver.
59	Beneficiary	M	[/34x] 4*35x	The final beneficiary of the local guarantee, for example the employer or the authority that asked for it.
32B	Undertaking Amount	M	3!a15d	Currency and amount of the local undertaking. It may be in local currency even when the counter-guarantee is not.
39F	Supplementary Information About Amount	O	12*65z	More about the local amount, as in sequence B.
57a	'Advise Through' BankOptions A or D	O	A: [/1!a][/34x] 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] D: [/1!a][/34x] 4*35x	The beneficiary’s bank through which the local undertaking should be passed on. Added to sequence C in a later release.
41a	Available With...Options F or G	O	F: 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] G: 4*35x	For a local standby only: where the demand may be presented.
71D	Charges	O	6*35z	Charges for the beneficiary’s account under the local undertaking.
45C	Document and Presentation Instructions	O	100*65z	What a demand under the local undertaking must contain and how it is presented.
77L	Requested Local Undertaking Terms and Conditions	O	150*65z	The wording the local bank is asked to use, or the particulars to put into its own standard text. Continues in MT761 when long.
22Y	Standard Wording Required	O	4!c	STND when the local bank should use its own standard wording for this type of guarantee.
40D	Standard Wording Requested Language	O	2!a	The language of that standard wording, as an ISO language code such as `EN` or `FR`.
44J	Governing Law and/or Place of Jurisdiction	O	2!a[/35x] [/65x]	Governing law of the local undertaking, usually the law of the local issuer’s country.
23F	Automatic Extension Period	O	4!a[/35x]	Automatic extension of the local undertaking, with the same codes as in sequence B.
78	Automatic Extension Non-Extension Notification	O	12*65x	How notice of non-extension of the local undertaking is given.
26E	Automatic Extension Notification Period	O	3n	Days before expiry for that notice.
31S	Automatic Extension Final Expiry Date	O	6!n	Last possible expiry date of the local undertaking.
48B	Demand Indicator	O	4!c	Limits on partial or multiple demands under the local undertaking.
48D	Transfer Indicator	O	4!c	TRAN when the local undertaking is transferable.
39E	Transfer Conditions	O	12*65z	Transfer conditions of the local undertaking.
45L	Underlying Transaction Details	M	50*65z	The contract the local undertaking secures. Mandatory here because the local guarantee is the one the final beneficiary relies on.
24E	Delivery of Local Undertaking	O	4!c[/35x]	How the paper local undertaking is delivered.
24G	Delivery To/Collection By	O	4!c [12*65z]	Who receives or collects the paper local undertaking.

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

Expiry: with 23B FIXD the date of expiry 31E is given; with COND the expiry condition 35G is given and a date is optional; with OPEN there is no expiry date. The same logic applies in sequence C.
Sequence C is used only with the purpose codes ISCO and ICCO. For those codes the underlying transaction details (45L) are given in sequence C, for the local undertaking, and not in sequence B.
Field 41a (Available With) belongs to standbys: it is not allowed when 22D is DGAR, and since the November 2023 release not with DEPU in sequence C either.
Up to seven MT761 messages may follow one MT760. Field 27 numbers them (the MT760 is 1), and they carry only 77U and 77L text. Nothing in an MT761 may repeat or contradict the MT760.
Information that has its own field (amount, expiry, rules, applicant, beneficiary) goes in that field and must not be repeated in 77U or 77L. Free text is for terms that have no field.
Under URDG 758 and ISP98 an undertaking is independent of the contract it secures: the issuer examines the demand and documents against the undertaking alone.
Since 21 November 2021 the old layout (fields 23 Further Identification, 40C and one 77C narrative) is no longer valid. Standbys that some banks used to issue as an MT700 are now issued as an MT760 with 22D STBY.

MT760 example

Northwind Engineering LLC in Dubai has won a EUR 10,000,000.00 contract to build a rail maintenance depot for Harbour Rail Systems Ltd in London, and receives a 15% advance payment. Harbour Rail asks for an advance payment guarantee. Northwind’s bank, ZagTrader Test Bank (ZAGTAEADXXX), issues a demand guarantee for EUR 1,500,000.00 subject to URDG 758 and sends the MT760 to BANKGB2LXXX in London, which advises it to the beneficiary. The guarantee reduces as the advance is repaid out of the contractor’s invoices. Everything fits in one message, so field 27 is 1/1.

{1:F01ZAGTAEADAXXX0000000000}{2:I760BANKGB2LXXXXN}{4:
:15A:
:27:1/1
:22A:ISSU
:15B:
:20:ZTG2610200007
:30:261020
:22D:DGAR
:40C:URDG
:23B:FIXD
:31E:271231
:50:NORTHWIND ENGINEERING LLC
OFFICE 804 TRADE CENTRE TOWER
DUBAI, UAE
:52A:ZAGTAEADXXX
:59:HARBOUR RAIL SYSTEMS LTD
10 DOCK ROAD
LONDON, UK
:56A:BANKGB2LXXX
:32B:EUR1500000,00
:71D:ALL CHARGES OUTSIDE THE UAE ARE
FOR THE BENEFICIARY
:45C:THE DEMAND MUST BE SIGNED BY THE BENEFICIARY AND STATE IN WHAT
RESPECT THE APPLICANT HAS NOT REPAID THE ADVANCE PAYMENT. IT MAY
BE PRESENTED BY AUTHENTICATED SWIFT THROUGH THE ADVISING BANK.
:77U:WE ISSUE THIS ADVANCE PAYMENT GUARANTEE IN YOUR FAVOUR FOR
ANY SUM UP TO THE AMOUNT IN FIELD 32B. IT BECOMES EFFECTIVE WHEN
THE ADVANCE PAYMENT IS CREDITED TO THE APPLICANT ACCOUNT WITH US
QUOTING OUR REFERENCE. THE AMOUNT REDUCES BY 15 PCT OF EACH
INVOICE PAID UNDER THE CONTRACT, ON OUR RECEIPT OF A COPY OF THE
PAID INVOICE.
:44J:AE
:45L:CONTRACT NO. HRS-2026-044 DATED 01 OCTOBER 2026 FOR THE DESIGN
AND CONSTRUCTION OF A RAIL MAINTENANCE DEPOT. ADVANCE PAYMENT OF
EUR 1,500,000.00 (15 PCT OF THE CONTRACT VALUE).
-}

Decode this example in the parser

Line by line

Line	What it says
{1:F01ZAGTAEADAXXX0000000000}{2:I760BANKGB2LXXXXN}{4:	Sender ZAGTAEADXXX (the issuing bank), input MT760 to BANKGB2LXXX (the advising bank), normal priority.
:15A:	Start of sequence A. The field is empty by design.
:27:1/1	No MT761 follows.
:22A:ISSU	The sender issues the guarantee itself (no counter-guarantee, so no sequence C).
:15B:	Start of sequence B.
:20:ZTG2610200007	Undertaking number. The MT767 amendment, any MT765 demand and the MT769 release will quote it.
:30:261020	Issued 20 October 2026.
:22D:DGAR	A demand guarantee, not a standby.
:40C:URDG	Subject to URDG 758.
:23B:FIXD	Fixed expiry, so 31E must follow.
:31E:271231	Expires 31 December 2027.
:50:NORTHWIND ENGINEERING LLC	Applicant: the contractor that received the advance.
OFFICE 804 TRADE CENTRE TOWER
DUBAI, UAE
:52A:ZAGTAEADXXX	Issuer, named even though it is also the sender.
:59:HARBOUR RAIL SYSTEMS LTD	Beneficiary: the party that paid the advance. Name and address, no letter option.
10 DOCK ROAD
LONDON, UK
:56A:BANKGB2LXXX	Advising bank (the receiver).
:32B:EUR1500000,00	Maximum amount, comma as the decimal mark.
:71D:ALL CHARGES OUTSIDE THE UAE ARE	Charges outside the UAE for the beneficiary (35 characters a line at most).
FOR THE BENEFICIARY
:45C:THE DEMAND MUST BE SIGNED BY THE BENEFICIARY AND STATE IN WHAT	What a complying demand must say. URDG 758 already requires a statement of breach; here it is spelled out.
RESPECT THE APPLICANT HAS NOT REPAID THE ADVANCE PAYMENT. IT MAY
BE PRESENTED BY AUTHENTICATED SWIFT THROUGH THE ADVISING BANK.
:77U:WE ISSUE THIS ADVANCE PAYMENT GUARANTEE IN YOUR FAVOUR FOR	Terms with no field of their own: the guarantee text, an effectiveness clause and a reduction clause.
ANY SUM UP TO THE AMOUNT IN FIELD 32B. IT BECOMES EFFECTIVE WHEN
THE ADVANCE PAYMENT IS CREDITED TO THE APPLICANT ACCOUNT WITH US
QUOTING OUR REFERENCE. THE AMOUNT REDUCES BY 15 PCT OF EACH
INVOICE PAID UNDER THE CONTRACT, ON OUR RECEIPT OF A COPY OF THE
PAID INVOICE.
:44J:AE	Governed by UAE law, the law of the issuer’s country (the URDG 758 default as well).
:45L:CONTRACT NO. HRS-2026-044 DATED 01 OCTOBER 2026 FOR THE DESIGN	The obligation the guarantee secures. Banks screen this field as well as the parties.
AND CONSTRUCTION OF A RAIL MAINTENANCE DEPOT. ADVANCE PAYMENT OF
EUR 1,500,000.00 (15 PCT OF THE CONTRACT VALUE).
-}	End of block 4.

The BICs, names, contract and undertaking numbers are made up.

A performance guarantee for the same contract would look the same with a different 77U (typically 10% of the contract value, no reduction clause) and a later expiry date, often tied to the end of the defects period with 23B COND and the event in 35G.

For a counter-guarantee, 22A would be ISCO, the beneficiary in 59a would be the local bank (for example :59A:BANKGB2LXXX), and a sequence C starting with :15C: would describe the guarantee BANKGB2LXXX is asked to issue to Harbour Rail, with 45L moved into sequence C.

Common errors and rejects

Expiry type and expiry fields do not match
23B says FIXD but there is no 31E, or 35G is present without COND, or OPEN is combined with an expiry date. Pick the expiry type first and then give exactly the fields it needs. The same check runs separately on sequence C.
Field 41a sent with a demand guarantee
Available With (41F or 41G) is a standby concept. With 22D DGAR the field is rejected; for a dependent undertaking (DEPU) in sequence C it has also been disallowed since November 2023. Put presentation details in 45C instead.
Sequence C without a counter-guarantee purpose
A sequence C was sent with 22A ISSU, or a counter-guarantee was coded ISCO but left 45L in sequence B. Sequence C belongs only to ISCO and ICCO, and for those the underlying transaction is described in sequence C.
Old pre-2021 template still in use
Messages built with the old layout (23 Further Identification, 30, 40C and the whole text in 77C) fail since 21 November 2021. The 15A, 15B and 15C markers, 22A, 22D, 23B, 52a, 59a and 77U are mandatory in the current layout.
Coded terms repeated or contradicted in 77U
The guarantee wording in 77U states an amount or expiry date that differs from 32B or 31E. Receivers reject or query such messages because it is unclear which value is binding. Keep coded data in its field and refer to it from the text.
Amount format in 32B
The amount needs a comma as the decimal mark and no thousands separators: EUR1500000,00, not EUR1,500,000.00. The syntax is the same as in payment field 32A.
How to fix it

MT760 in ISO 20022

Swift’s MT and MX equivalence table (May 2024) lists tsrv.001 UndertakingIssuance as the ISO 20022 equivalent of the MT760. The tsrv (Trade Services) set covers the same business: the issue of a demand guarantee, a standby or a counter-undertaking, with the amendment in tsrv.005 UndertakingAmendment. The structured MT760 of 2021 follows a similar data model, which is why its sequences and codes look alike.

An equivalent in the standard is not the same as use on the network. Guarantees and standbys in category 7 were not part of the November 2025 end of MT/MX coexistence, which covered cross-border payment instructions only, and banks still exchange them as MT760 and its related messages.

When a guarantee is paid, the money moves in payment messages, and those are ISO 20022 on Swift now: a bank-to-bank payment under a guarantee is a pacs.009 rather than an MT202.

MT760 questions

What is an MT760?: It is the Swift message used to issue a demand guarantee or a standby letter of credit, or to advise one. The issuing bank sends it to the advising bank, which passes it to the beneficiary. It can also carry a counter-guarantee asking another bank to issue its own local guarantee.
What is the difference between MT760 and MT700?: The MT700 issues a documentary credit, which pays when the seller presents shipping and commercial documents. The MT760 issues a guarantee or standby, which pays on a demand, typically when the applicant has not performed. Since November 2021 standbys are issued with the MT760.
What is the difference between MT760 and MT799?: The MT760 is the operative guarantee instrument with a fixed structure. The MT799 is a free format message between banks: it can carry a pre-advice or a question, but it does not issue a guarantee and does not bind the bank to pay.
What changed in MT760 in November 2021?: The message moved from one free text field (77C) to three sequences with coded fields: purpose of message, form of undertaking, rules, expiry type, parties, amount, demand and transfer indicators, and a separate sequence for a requested local guarantee. New messages such as the MT761, MT765, MT785, MT786 and MT787 were added at the same time.
What is an ISCO counter-guarantee?: With 22A ISCO the sender issues a counter-guarantee in favour of the receiving bank and asks it to issue a local guarantee to the final beneficiary. Sequence B describes the counter-guarantee and sequence C the local guarantee. If the local bank pays the beneficiary, it claims under the counter-guarantee.
Can an MT760 be bought, leased or monetised?: No. An MT760 is a message between two banks that issues or advises a guarantee for a named applicant and beneficiary and a specific obligation. It is not a security and has no value apart from that obligation. Offers to sell or lease one do not match how guarantees work.

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