SWIFT / cross-border

SWIFT route selection — RMA, SSI and accounts

A bank selects an authorized correspondent route, proves that messaging permission and settlement reach are separate, and stops safely when either control is missing.

Contributor Shubham Mathure18 July 2026

PAYMENTS SIGNAL · REFERENCE CARD

Actors

Asha Traders treasurycustomer
Bank Alfa (ordering bank)bank
Meridian Bank (USD correspondent)bank
Cassia Bank (beneficiary bank)bank
Northstar Componentscustomer

Messages

MT103

The sequence

#	Step	Route	Kind
1	Payment instruction — Treasury asks Bank Alfa to pay a USD supplier	Asha → Bank Alfa	message
2	RMA + SSI + account — Bank Alfa proves the route before releasing value	Bank Alfa	internal
3	DR customer — Bank Alfa debits the customer after route acceptance	Bank Alfa	posting
4	MT103 — The MT103 goes to the authorized correspondent	Bank Alfa → Meridian	message
5	Validate & screen — Meridian performs its own controls	Meridian	internal
6	Book transfer — Meridian settles across the correspondent accounts	Meridian	settlement
7	MT103 — Meridian forwards the customer payment	Meridian → Cassia	message
8	CR beneficiary — Cassia credits Northstar Components	Cassia → Northstar	posting

Exception rails

Rail	Trigger	Where the money ends up	Next action
No authorized messaging route	Bank Alfa has no direct RMA with Cassia and none of its permitted correspondents has the required authorization for the next hop.	Still in Asha Traders' account; no customer debit or reserve was released. · No SWIFT message left Bank Alfa and no interbank settlement occurred.	Bank Alfa — Payments operations confirms whether a correspondent route can be onboarded or whether the customer must use another permitted service.
RMA exists, but settlement reach does not	The RMA check passes, but the SSI is expired, the named account is closed, or the correspondent cannot settle USD onward to Cassia.	Still in Asha Traders' account while the route is repaired. · Messaging authorization existed, but no interbank value moved.	Bank Alfa — Reference-data owners approve a current SSI or routing selects a different authorized correspondent, then the payment is revalidated from the start.