Do we get proof on every payment or only when we ask?

On settlement, as a matter of course. The reference is produced whether or not anyone has asked for it, which is the difference between evidence and a support request.

Will our supplier's bank accept it?

It is the artefact their bank uses internally, so yes in the ordinary case. What no provider can promise is how quickly a given receiving bank acts on it, and we do not make that promise.

Can our auditor rely on this?

That is what it is for. The reference, value date, payer of record, beneficiary of record, remittance references and charge allocation give a trail from instruction to credit without anyone retyping a figure.

Why is the ordering institution redacted on this page?

Because we do not publish partner identifiers anywhere, including in an illustration. On your own confirmation every field is present in full.

What if the deduction happened at a bank you do not control?

We cannot reverse it, and we will not claim to. What we do is identify which party took what and put it in writing, so the conversation with your supplier is about a document rather than a disagreement.

PAYMENT PROOF · WHAT SETTLEMENT ACTUALLY PRODUCES

Your supplier is not asking for reassurance. They are asking for a document.

Nine pages on this site promise an MT103 or a rail reference. This is the page that shows you one, field by field, and tells you which line answers which question when a container is sitting at a port waiting for release.

Talk to the desk Read the confirmation →

TWO RAILS · TWO ARTEFACTS

LOCAL RAIL · FIVE MARKETSSAME DAY

RAIL REFERENCEThe receiving rail's own reference, with value date, payer and the exact amount credited. It lands as a domestic credit, so there is no correspondent chain to reconstruct.

USD SWIFT · 180+ COUNTRIES1 TO 3 DAYS

MT103The full payment message with sender's reference, value date, ordering and beneficiary details, and the charge allocation. Where a deduction happened, this is what lets us reconstruct the chain.

AN MT103 EXISTS ON A SWIFT PAYMENT. ON A LOCAL RAIL THE ARTEFACT IS THAT RAIL'S REFERENCE. WE DO NOT CALL BOTH AN MT103.

Pick the question. We will point at the line.

ILLUSTRATIVE CONFIRMATION. FIELD TAGS ARE THE STANDARD MT103 STRUCTURE.

PAYMENT LIFECYCLEWATCH WHEN THE ARTEFACT APPEARS

INSTRUCTEDNO ARTEFACT YET

CONVERTED

SENT

SETTLED

PROOF ISSUED

WHAT ARE YOU BEING ASKED

THE ANSWERThe sender's reference. It exists only once the payment has been instructed and sent, and it is the number your supplier's bank uses to find it.ANSWERED BY :20: SENDER'S REFERENCE

PAYMENT CONFIRMATION · UC-88214SETTLED

:20:

SENDER'S REFERENCEUC-88214

:23B:

BANK OPERATION CODECRED

:32A:

VALUE DATE · CURRENCY · AMOUNT260731 USD 250,000.00

:50K:

ORDERING CUSTOMERYOUR BUSINESS LTD

:52A:

ORDERING INSTITUTIONREDACTED ON THIS PAGE

:57A:

ACCOUNT WITH INSTITUTIONSUPPLIER'S BANK

:59:

BENEFICIARY CUSTOMERSUPPLIER TRADING CO · ACCT 8841

:70:

REMITTANCE INFORMATIONINV 4471-A · PO 22119

:71A:

DETAILS OF CHARGESSHA

:72:

SENDER TO RECEIVER INFORMATIONGOODS RELEASE · CONTAINER MSCU7741

INSTITUTION IDENTIFIERS ARE REDACTED HERE BECAUSE WE DO NOT PUBLISH PARTNER DETAILS. ON YOUR OWN CONFIRMATION THEY ARE PRESENT IN FULL.

WHICH ARTEFACT YOU GET

It depends on the rail, and the rail depends on the market.

FIVE MARKETS ON LOCAL RAILS. BEYOND THEM, USD SWIFT REACH.

MARKET

RAILS

SETTLEMENT

THE ARTEFACT

GBPUnited Kingdom

FPS · CHAPS · BACS

INSTANT TO SAME DAY

FPS or CHAPS reference on settlement

EUREurope

SEPA · SEPA INSTANT

MINUTES TO SAME DAY

SEPA reference on settlement

USDUnited States

ACH · FEDWIRE

SAME DAY TO 1 TO 2 DAYS

Fedwire or ACH trace reference

CADCanada

EFT · LYNX

SAME DAY TO 1 TO 2 DAYS

LYNX or EFT reference on settlement

AEDUnited Arab Emirates

UAEFTS · IPP

INSTANT TO SAME DAY

UAEFTS or IPP reference. Domestic only.

USDBeyond the five markets

SWIFT CORRESPONDENT

1 TO 3 DAYS

MT103, plus chain reconstruction if it arrives short

INSTRUCTIONS ARE ACCEPTED 24/7 WITH NO CUT-OFF. SETTLEMENT FOLLOWS THE RECEIVING RAIL'S OPERATING SCHEDULE.

WHEN THEY SAY IT NEVER ARRIVED

The proof is the first move, not the last resort.

SAME BUSINESS DAY. A NAMED SPECIALIST, NOT A CASE NUMBER.

01ON THE CALL

You get the reference before we investigateWhatever else is true, your supplier can be given something to take to their bank within minutes.

02SAME BUSINESS DAY

A named specialist confirms statusNot a case number. The person who owns your account tells you where the payment actually is.

03SAME BUSINESS DAY

The chain is reconstructedIf it arrived short, we identify which party deducted what and produce it in writing for your supplier.

04UNTIL IT SETTLES

They stay on itA trace through correspondents is not fast, but ownership does not pass back to you while it runs.

HONESTLY

What proof is not, including ours.

Evidence tells you where money is and what happened to it. It does not make a receiving bank move faster, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something.

×A screenshot of a dashboard saying complete. It proves your provider updated its own record, nothing more.

×The word sent, in an email, from anybody.

×A confirmation with no reference on it. Without the reference the receiving bank cannot search for your payment.

×Evidence that a receiving bank will act quickly. Proof shows where money is. It does not move it, and we will not pretend it does.

×Anything we could produce about a payment that has not actually been instructed. There is no artefact before there is a payment.

What finance and audit ask about evidence.

Send us a payment you could not account for. We will read it back to you.

ONE MT103 OR RAIL REFERENCE IS ENOUGH

Talk to the desk Compliance and pricing pack →