Payments Academy
Worked example 1 NOW Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus This worked example is set before the CBPR+ migration, so the payment travels as an MT103. Step 1 of 6 Worked example 1 NOW Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus This worked example is set before the CBPR+ migration, so the payment travels as an MT103. Step 1 of 6
Charge option 1 Worked 2 NOW Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus The charge option is SHA, so each bank may deduct its own fee, and field 70 carries invoice reference INV 77120 for the supplier shipment. Step 2 of 6 Charge option 1 Worked 2 NOW Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus The charge option is SHA, so each bank may deduct its own fee, and field 70 carries invoice reference INV 77120 for the supplier shipment. Step 2 of 6
BNP Paribas has no direct 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 NOW BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus If BNP Paribas has no direct euro account with DBS Step 3 of 6 BNP Paribas has no direct 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 NOW BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus If BNP Paribas has no direct euro account with DBS Step 3 of 6
DBS receives the message validates 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 NOW DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus DBS receives the message, validates the format, and returns a delivery acknowledgement to BNP Paribas through SWIFTNet. Step 4 of 6 DBS receives the message validates 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 NOW DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus DBS receives the message, validates the format, and returns a delivery acknowledgement to BNP Paribas through SWIFTNet. Step 4 of 6
SWIFTNet store and forward 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 NOW SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus If DBS had been offline when the message arrived, SWIFTNet would have stored the MT103 and delivered it when DBS reconnected, with no loss of the instruction. Step 5 of 6 SWIFTNet store and forward 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 NOW SWIFTNet 6 BIC plus category plus service plus If DBS had been offline when the message arrived, SWIFTNet would have stored the MT103 and delivered it when DBS reconnected, with no loss of the instruction. Step 5 of 6
BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 NOW BIC plus category plus service plus That pattern, BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation, is the foundation of every SWIFT payment. Step 6 of 6 BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation 1 Worked 2 Charge option 3 BNP Paribas 4 DBS 5 SWIFTNet 6 NOW BIC plus category plus service plus That pattern, BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation, is the foundation of every SWIFT payment. Step 6 of 6

Flow of the explanation in this lesson.

0:00 / 4:20 Step 1 of 6

Worked Example: Follow One Message from a Bank in Paris to a Bank in Singapore

SWIFT Fundamentals, Lesson 7 of 7, Narration 4:20, D04 Messaging and standards

ReconciliationValue dateGateway

What you will learn

Your objective. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain worked example: follow one message from a bank in paris to a bank in singapore. This worked example is set before the CBPR+ migration, so the payment travels as an MT103.

Why it matters. Its operations team screens the ordering customer and the beneficiary against sanctions lists, checks the account number 003912345678, and confirms that the value date of 5 November 2024 has been met.

Chapter objective: Learner explains SWIFT fundamentals, SWIFTNet, message categories and types, BIC structure under ISO 9362, and the mandatory fields of an MT103. Learner uses real examples with amounts, banks and message names to show how the topic works in practice.

Key learning points

  • Worked example
  • Charge option
  • BNP Paribas has no direct
  • DBS receives the message validates
  • SWIFTNet store and forward
  • BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation

Key terms

Reconciliation: The process of comparing records from two sources, such as a bank statement and an internal ledger, to confirm they agree.

Value date: The date on which funds become available to the beneficiary and on which interest starts to accrue. It is the date used for settlement and for nostro posting.

Gateway: A service that connects a merchant website or app to payment networks and acquirers. It encrypts card data, routes authorisation requests, and returns the result to the merchant.

SWIFT MT message viewer showing Worked Example: Follow One Message from a Bank in Paris to a Bank in Singapore.

Practise this lesson

Exercise

Read the MT103. message described in this lesson and identify its key parts.

Use the message structure, fields and example in this lesson.

  1. What to do. List the main blocks of the message, name the field that carries the amount, and name the field that identifies the payment.

Correct result. The message is made of blocks, each carrying a part of the payment instruction. The amount field and the identification field are the two a receiving bank checks first, because without them it cannot process or reconcile the payment.

Why. A message is only useful if you can read it. The blocks tell the receiving bank what to do, and the amount and identification fields are what it checks first.

Check your understanding

Practice question

Which of the following best describes worked example: follow one message from a bank in paris to a bank in singapore?

Takeaway and next step

What to remember

That pattern, BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation, is the foundation of every SWIFT payment.

Open the message type from this lesson and inspect its fields, then find the field that carries the amount.

Open the ISO 20022 Message Explorer →

Builds on "FIN, InterAct and FileAct".

Transcript and full text

Show transcript

This worked example is set before the CBPR+ migration, so the payment travels as an MT103. The payment begins in Paris, where a corporate customer named Atelier Lumiere SARL instructs BNP Paribas to pay 250,000 euros to a supplier in Singapore whose account is held with DBS Bank. The supplier account number is 003912345678, and the DBS Bank BIC is DBSSSGSG, where DBSS is the bank code, SG is the country code for Singapore, and SG is the location code for Singapore. The BNP Paribas BIC is BNPAFRPP, and the transaction reference is PARSGP250001. The charge option is SHA, so each bank may deduct its own fee, and field 70 carries invoice reference INV 77120 for the supplier shipment. BNP Paribas creates an MT103, which is a category 1 customer payment message, with field 20 PARSGP250001, field 23B CRED, field 32A 241105EUR250000,00, field 50K for Atelier Lumiere SARL, and field 59A for the Singapore supplier with account 003912345678. Field 57A is omitted on this leg if BNP Paribas sends directly to DBS, because DBS is both the receiver and the account with institution. If BNP Paribas has no direct euro account with DBS, it may send the MT103 through an intermediary, such as Citibank in New York with BIC CITIUS33, and then field 57A would read DBSSSGSG to tell Citibank where to forward the payment. BNP Paribas validates the DBS BIC against the SWIFT BIC directory, confirms that DBSSSGSG is live and connected, and releases the MT103 through Alliance Access and Alliance Gateway to SWIFTNet. SWIFTNet reads the receiver BIC, routes the message through the FIN service to the operating centre that serves Singapore, and delivers it to the DBS gateway in seconds. DBS receives the message, validates the format, and returns a delivery acknowledgement to BNP Paribas through SWIFTNet. That acknowledgement proves the message arrived, and it is logged with the transaction reference PARSGP250001. DBS Bank processes the MT103 on arrival. Its operations team screens the ordering customer and the beneficiary against sanctions lists, checks the account number 003912345678, and confirms that the value date of 5 November 2024 has been met. DBS then credits the supplier account with 250,000 euros, less any fee DBS is entitled to deduct under the SHA charge option, and it sends an MT910 confirmation of credit to BNP Paribas through FIN to confirm that the credit was made. If DBS had been offline when the message arrived, SWIFTNet would have stored the MT103 and delivered it when DBS reconnected, with no loss of the instruction. The payment closes with reporting and reconciliation. The next morning, DBS sends an MT950 statement through FIN to BNP Paribas, showing the credit and the closing balance on the nostro account. BNP Paribas reconciles the MT950 against its own MT103 and its MT910, and the corporate customer sees the payment as sent in online banking. The full journey used one BIC to route the message, one category 1 message to instruct the payment, the FIN service to deliver it, and two category 9 messages to confirm and report it. That pattern, BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation, is the foundation of every SWIFT payment.

This worked example is set before the CBPR+ migration, so the payment travels as an MT103. The payment begins in Paris, where a corporate customer named Atelier Lumiere SARL instructs BNP Paribas to pay 250,000 euros to a supplier in Singapore whose account is held with DBS Bank. The supplier account number is 003912345678, and the DBS Bank BIC is DBSSSGSG, where DBSS is the bank code, SG is the country code for Singapore, and SG is the location code for Singapore. The BNP Paribas BIC is BNPAFRPP, and the transaction reference is PARSGP250001. The charge option is SHA, so each bank may deduct its own fee, and field 70 carries invoice reference INV 77120 for the supplier shipment.

BNP Paribas creates an MT103, which is a category 1 customer payment message, with field 20 PARSGP250001, field 23B CRED, field 32A 241105EUR250000,00, field 50K for Atelier Lumiere SARL, and field 59A for the Singapore supplier with account 003912345678. Field 57A is omitted on this leg if BNP Paribas sends directly to DBS, because DBS is both the receiver and the account with institution. If BNP Paribas has no direct euro account with DBS, it may send the MT103 through an intermediary, such as Citibank in New York with BIC CITIUS33, and then field 57A would read DBSSSGSG to tell Citibank where to forward the payment.

BNP Paribas validates the DBS BIC against the SWIFT BIC directory, confirms that DBSSSGSG is live and connected, and releases the MT103 through Alliance Access and Alliance Gateway to SWIFTNet. SWIFTNet reads the receiver BIC, routes the message through the FIN service to the operating centre that serves Singapore, and delivers it to the DBS gateway in seconds. DBS receives the message, validates the format, and returns a delivery acknowledgement to BNP Paribas through SWIFTNet. That acknowledgement proves the message arrived, and it is logged with the transaction reference PARSGP250001.

DBS Bank processes the MT103 on arrival. Its operations team screens the ordering customer and the beneficiary against sanctions lists, checks the account number 003912345678, and confirms that the value date of 5 November 2024 has been met. DBS then credits the supplier account with 250,000 euros, less any fee DBS is entitled to deduct under the SHA charge option, and it sends an MT910 confirmation of credit to BNP Paribas through FIN to confirm that the credit was made. If DBS had been offline when the message arrived, SWIFTNet would have stored the MT103 and delivered it when DBS reconnected, with no loss of the instruction.

The payment closes with reporting and reconciliation. The next morning, DBS sends an MT950 statement through FIN to BNP Paribas, showing the credit and the closing balance on the nostro account. BNP Paribas reconciles the MT950 against its own MT103 and its MT910, and the corporate customer sees the payment as sent in online banking. The full journey used one BIC to route the message, one category 1 message to instruct the payment, the FIN service to deliver it, and two category 9 messages to confirm and report it. That pattern, BIC plus category plus service plus confirmation, is the foundation of every SWIFT payment.

Full lesson text (all scenes)

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