Introduction
The MT101 — Request for Transfer message is a SWIFT FIN message used by a corporate (or ordering institution) to instruct its bank to initiate one or more credit transfers from its account.
In the ISO 20022 world, the equivalent message is PAIN.001 — Customer Credit Transfer Initiation.
Although both serve similar business purposes, they differ significantly:
| MT101 | PAIN.001 |
| Fixed tag-based structure | XML hierarchical structure |
| Limited structured data | Rich structured data |
| Bank-driven format | Corporate-driven initiation format |
| One message may include multiple transactions | Same, but with richer grouping |
This article explains:
✅ Each MT101 field
✅ What it means functionally
✅ Equivalent PAIN.001 XML mapping
MT101 Block 4 — Field-by-Field Explanation + PAIN.001 Mapping
| Sequence | Field name | Tag | Mandatory/ Optional | Format | Definition | PAIN.001 Equivalent | Outgoing PACS.008 Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Sender’s Reference | 20 | M | 16x | Unique reference assigned by the sender to identify the MT101 message | /GrpHdr/MsgId | NA |
| A | Customer Specified Reference | 21R | O | 16x | Contains the reference assigned to the entire MT101 instruction by the instructing party or ordering customer. It is used for customer-level tracking, reconciliation, and identification of the full payment instruction (message or batch). | NA | NA |
| A | Message Index/Total | 28D | M | 5n/5n | Indicates the sequence number of this MT101 message within a series, and the total number of messages in that series. It is mainly used when a large payment instruction is split across multiple MT101 messages. | NA | NA |
| A | Instructing Party | 50a | O | Option C: 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option L: 35X -> (Party Identifier) | Customer which is authorised by the account owner/account servicing institution to order all the transactions in the message. Only to be used when the instructing customer is not also the account owner. | GrpHdr/InitgPty | /CdtTrfTxInf/InitgPty |
| A | Ordering Customer | 50a | O | Option F: 35x -> (Party Identifier) 4*(1!n/33x) -> (Number/Name and Address) Option G: /34x -> (Account) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option H: /34x -> (Account) 4*35x -> (Name and Address) | Identifies the customer whose account will be debited for the payment(s) in the MT101. It provides the name, and optionally account number and address, of the ordering party initiating the transfer. | /PmtInf/Dbtr | /CdtTrfTxInf/Dbtr |
| A | Account Servicing Institution | 52a | O | Option A: [/1!a][/34x] -> (Party Identifier) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option C: /34x -> (Party Identifier) | Identifies the financial institution that services the ordering customer’s account — i.e., the bank where the funds will be debited for the MT101 instruction. | /PmtInf/DbtrAgt | /CdtTrfTxInf/DbtrAgt |
| A | Sending Institution | 51A | O | Option A: [/1!a][/34x] -> (Party Identifier) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) | Identifies the financial institution that sends/transmits the MT101 message. It indicates the bank responsible for forwarding the instruction, when this institution needs to be explicitly stated. | /GrpHdr/FwdgAgt | NA |
| A | Requested Execution Date | 30 | M | 6!n | Specifies the date on which the ordering customer requests the payment(s) to be executed by the account-servicing institution | /PmtInf/ReqdExctnDt | /CdtTrfTxInf/IntrBkSttlmDt (Not Direct) |
| A | Authorisation | 25 | O | 35x | Contains the authorization or approval reference related to the MT101 instruction. It is used to indicate that the payment request has been validated, approved, or authorized according to the customer’s internal or bank-agreed procedures. | /GrpHdr/Authstn | NA |
| B | Transaction Reference | 21 | M | 16x | Contains the unique reference assigned by the sender to identify the individual payment transaction within the MT101 message. | /PmtInf/PmtInfId (&) /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/PmtId/InstrId | NA |
| B | F/X Deal Reference | 21F | O | 16x | Contains the foreign exchange deal reference associated with the individual payment transaction. It links the payment to a previously agreed FX contract between the customer and the bank, ensuring the correct exchange rate and settlement conditions are applied. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/XchgRateInf/CtrctId | NA |
| B | Instruction Code | 23E | O – Repetitive | Option E: 4!c[/30x] -> (Instruction Code)(Additional Information) | Specifies special processing instructions for the individual payment transaction. It tells the receiving bank how the payment should be handled, using predefined codes (optionally with additional information). | Multiple Fields | Multiple Fields |
| B | Currency/Transaction Amount | 32B | M | 3!a15d | Specifies the currency and amount of the individual payment transaction to be transferred to the beneficiary. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/Amt/InstdAmt | /CdtTrfTxInf/InstdAmt |
| B | Instructing Party | 50a | O | Option C: 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option L: 35x -> (Party Identifier) | Customer which is authorised by the account owner/account servicing institution to order all the transactions in the message. Only to be used when the instructing customer is not also the account owner. | GrpHdr/InitgPty | /CdtTrfTxInf/InitgPty |
| B | Ordering Customer | 50a | O | Option F: 35x -> (Party Identifier) 4*(1!n/33x) -> (Number/Name and Address) Option G: /34x -> (Account) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option H: /34x -> (Account) 4*35x -> (Name and Address) | Identifies the customer whose account will be debited for the payment(s) in the MT101. It provides the name, and optionally account number and address, of the ordering party initiating the transfer. | /PmtInf/Dbtr | /CdtTrfTxInf/Dbtr |
| B | Account Servicing Institution | 52a | O | Option A: [/1!a][/34x] -> (Party Identifier) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option C: /34x -> (Party Identifier) | Identifies the financial institution that services the ordering customer’s account — i.e., the bank where the funds will be debited for the MT101 instruction. | /PmtInf/DbtrAgt | /CdtTrfTxInf/DbtrAgt |
| B | Intermediary | 56a | O | Option A: [/1!a][/34x] -> (Party Identifier) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option C: /34x -> (Party Identifier) Option D: [/1!a][/34x] -> (Party Identifier) 4*35x -> (Name and Address) | Identifies the intermediary financial institution through which the payment must be routed before reaching the beneficiary’s bank. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/IntrmyAgt1 | Scenario Dependent |
| B | Account With Institution | 57a | O | Option A: [/1!a][/34x] -> (Party Identifier) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option C: /34x -> (Party Identifier) Option D: [/1!a][/34x] -> (Party Identifier) 4*35x -> (Name and Address) | Identifies the financial institution that holds the beneficiary’s account — i.e., the beneficiary’s bank where the funds must ultimately be credited. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/CdtrAgt | /CdtTrfTxInf/CdtrAgt |
| B | Beneficiary | 59a | M | No Letter Option: [/34x] -> (Account) 4*35x -> (Name and Address) Option A: [/34x] -> (Account) 4!a2!a2!c[3!c] -> (Identifier Code) Option F: [/34x] -> (Account) 4*(1!n/33x) -> (Number/Name and Address) | Identifies the beneficiary (creditor) who will receive the funds, including their account number and name/address. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/Cdtr | /CdtTrfTxInf/Cdtr |
| B | Remittance Information | 70 | O | 4*35x | Contains the payment reference or details for the beneficiary, explaining what the payment is for. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/RmtInf/Ustrd | /CdtTrfTxInf/RmtInf/Ustrd |
| B | Regulatory Reporting | 77B | O | 3*35x | Carries regulatory or reporting information required by authorities in the country of the sender or receiver. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/RgltryRptg | /CdtTrfTxInf/RgltryRptg |
| B | Currency/Original Ordered Amount | 33B | O | 3!a15d | Specifies the original currency and amount ordered by the customer for the transaction, particularly when it differs from the transfer amount in :32B: due to FX conversion. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/Amt/EqvtAmt | NA |
| B | Details of Charges | 71A | M | 3!a | Specifies who will bear the transaction charges related to the payment. OUR/BEN/SHA | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/ChrgBr | /CdtTrfTxInf/ChrgBr |
| B | Charges Account | 25A | O | /34x | Specifies the account to be used for debiting the payment charges, if the charges are not to be taken from the main debit account. | /PmtInf/ChrgsAcct | NA |
| B | Exchange Rate | 36 | O | 12d | Specifies the foreign exchange rate to be applied to the transaction when currency conversion is involved. | /PmtInf/CdtTrfTxInf/XchgRateInf/XchgRate | /CdtTrfTxInf/XchgRate |