Carries Category 1 information for which no more specific message type is defined. It has been widely used for payment queries and explanations, but structured cancellation and investigation messages are preferred because free text is difficult to automate.
DIRECTION: Sent between financial institutions, or in supported corporate arrangements, when information about a Category 1 payment cannot be expressed in a more specific MT.
Version + profile: MT199 follows the applicable Standards MT release and service rules. This page is a curated field subset; bilateral practice and annual standards changes can alter permitted content and handling.
EVIDENCE AT ARM'S REACH
Start with the exact message version, then apply the scheme or network profile that governs your implementation.
An XSD checks XML structure. A usage guideline adds profile rules, conditional fields, code restrictions, and business controls. XSD-valid does not mean scheme-compliant.
The annual MT standard and release information. Full field specifications may require an authenticated Swift account.
A fictional free-format payment investigation used only where no more specific structured message fits. SYNTHETIC / TRAINING ONLY; illustrative unvalidated.
crc32:6379a2cfInitiation, serial and cover context, cancellation and correspondence, advices, and statements.
crc32:8b3a20e4Field correspondence, transformation treatment, and data-loss notes for Free-format category-1 query compared with a structured investigation request.
crc32:4f8da59eField correspondence, transformation treatment, and data-loss notes for Free-format category-1 answer compared with a structured investigation response.
crc32:f2fa44acCurated field requirements, contexts, operational meaning, and implementation cautions.
crc32:21dbbb94Curated teaching subset. MT199 intentionally has little structure; the official handbook and applicable market-practice guidance govern references, authentication, and any coded narrative conventions.
| FIELD | NAME | PRESENCE | WHAT IT MEANS |
|---|---|---|---|
:20: | Transaction reference | MANDATORY | Unique reference for this free-format message or case. |
:21: | Related reference | MANDATORY | Reference of the payment or request being discussed. |
:79: | Narrative | MANDATORY | Free-format information, ideally following agreed coded conventions. |
:79:/RFI/ | Request-for-information marker | OPTIONAL | Agreed narrative marker showing the business purpose of the message. |
:79::121: | Quoted UETR | OPTIONAL | UETR copied into the narrative when needed for payment correlation. |
Block 3 / field 121 | Message UETR | CONDITIONAL | Network reference for the free-format message where the service requires it. |
Swift Standards MT (annual standards releases) ↗ — Swift · Category 1 — MT199 Free Format Message
Full field-level specifications live in the Swift Knowledge Centre User Handbook behind a swift.com login. Coexistence for in-scope FI-to-FI payment instructions ended on 22 November 2025, but treatment differs by MT: some instructions are NAKed and selected messages can enter temporary, chargeable contingency conversion. Reporting, initiation, investigations and correspondence follow separate roadmaps.
ISO 20022 Standards (Swift ISO 20022 adoption programme) ↗ — Swift · Exceptions and Investigations migration
Do not generalise the payment-instruction deadline to every FIN message. Swift publishes differentiated NAK, contingency-conversion, reporting, initiation and exceptions-and-investigations treatment.
Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal
What this simplifies: One request-for-information narrative is shown; bilateral conventions vary.
Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.
Share an operational observation or ask a concrete payments question. Your name and message are public; your email remains private.
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