SWIFT / cross-border
PAYMENTS SIGNAL · REFERENCE CARDSWIFT cover payment (MT103 + MT202 COV)
The payment instruction travels directly to the beneficiary bank while the money takes the correspondent route as a cover transfer. The two must meet and match.
Actors
- Ordering customercustomer
- Bank Alfa (ordering bank)bank
- Meridian Bank (correspondent)bank
- Cassia Bank (beneficiary bank)bank
- Beneficiarycustomer
Messages
- MT103
- MT202 COV
- MT910
The sequence
| # | Step | Route | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Instruction — The customer orders a USD transfer abroad | Customer → Bank Alfa | message |
| 2 | Validate & debit — Bank Alfa validates, screens, and debits | Bank Alfa | internal |
| 3 | MT103 — The MT103 goes directly to Cassia | Bank Alfa → Cassia | message |
| 4 | MT202 COV — The cover transfer goes to the correspondent | Bank Alfa → Meridian | message |
| 5 | Book transfer — Meridian settles the cover across its books | Meridian | settlement |
| 6 | MT910 — Cassia sees the cover arrive on its nostro | Meridian → Cassia | message |
| 7 | Match MT103 ↔ cover — Cassia matches the announcement against the cover | Cassia | internal |
| 8 | CR beneficiary — The beneficiary is credited | Cassia | posting |
Exception rails
| Rail | Trigger | Where the money ends up | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cover missing or mismatched | Cassia holds an MT103 announcing USD 250,000.00 — but no matching cover has arrived on its nostro. | Debited from the customer on day one; the beneficiary was credited only after the cover was repaired. · The cover settled late; the original MT103 was never money, only information. | Bank Alfa — Bank Alfa reviews why the rejected cover sat unnoticed in the repair queue. |