MT 700 Issue of a Documentary Credit

MT 700 Scope

This message is sent by the issuing bank to the advising bank.

It is used to indicate the terms and conditions of a documentary credit which has been originated by the Sender (issuing bank).

MT 700 Format Specifications

Status	Tag	Field Name	Content/Options	No.
M	27	Sequence of Total	1!n/1!n	1
M	40A	Form of Documentary Credit	24x	2
M	20	Documentary Credit Number	16x	3
O	23	Reference to Pre-Advice	16x	4
O	31C	Date of Issue	6!n	5
M	40E	Applicable Rules	30x[/35x]	6
M	31D	Date and Place of Expiry	6!n29x	7
O	51a	Applicant Bank	A or D	8
M	50	Applicant	4*35x	9
M	59	Beneficiary	[/34x] 4*35x	10
M	32B	Currency Code, Amount	3!a15d	11
O	39A	Percentage Credit Amount Tolerance	2n/2n	12
O	39B	Maximum Credit Amount	13x	13
O	39C	Additional Amounts Covered	4*35x	14
M	41a	Available With … By …	A or D	15
O	42C	Drafts at …	3*35x	16
O	42a	Drawee	A or D	17
O	42M	Mixed Payment Details	4*35x	18
O	42P	Deferred Payment Details	4*35x	19
O	43P	Partial Shipments	35x	20
O	43T	Transshipment	35x	21
O	44A	Place of Taking in Charge/Dispatch from …/Place of Receipt	65x	22
O	44E	Port of Loading/Airport of Departure	65x	23
O	44F	Port of Discharge/Airport of Destination	65x	24
O	44B	Place of Final Destination/For Transportation to …/Place of Delivery	65x	25
O	44C	Latest Date of Shipment	6!n	26
O	44D	Shipment Period	6*65x	27
O	45A	Description of Goods and/or Services	100*65x	28
O	46A	Documents Required	100*65x	29
O	47A	Additional Conditions	100*65x	30
O	71B	Charges	6*35x	31
O	48	Period for Presentation	4*35x	32
M	49	Confirmation Instructions	7!x	33
O	53a	Reimbursing Bank	A or D	34
O	78	Instructions to the Paying/Accepting/Negotiating Bank	12*65x	35
O	57a	‘Advise Through’ Bank	A, B, or D	36
O	72	Sender to Receiver Information	6*35x	37

MT 700 Network Validated Rules

• C1 Either field 39A or 39B, but not both, may be present (Error code(s): D05).
• C2 When used, fields 42C and 42a must both be present (Error code(s): C90).
• C3 Either fields 42C and 42a together, or field 42M alone, or field 42P alone may be present. No other combination of these fields is allowed (Error code(s): C90).
• C4 Either field 44C or 44D, but not both, may be present (Error code(s): D06).

MT 700 Usage Rules

• When the documentary credit message exceeds the maximum input message length, additional documentary credit information should be transmitted via one or more MT 701s. Up to three MT 701s may be sent in addition to the MT 700.
• Unless otherwise specified, a documentary credit advised to the beneficiary or another advising bank based on a SWIFT message constitutes an operative credit instrument.
• For freely negotiable documentary credits, if the Receiver does not further transmit the credit by MT 710, it must add sentences to the effect that:
  • The advice to the beneficiary must be presented at each negotiation.
  • The negotiating bank must note each negotiation on that advice.
• To avoid misunderstandings, where possible, banks are to use Identifier Codes rather than expressions such as ourselves, yourselves, us, or you.
• The advising bank must advise a documentary credit, including all its details, in a way that is clear and unambiguous to the beneficiary.

SWIFT Documentation
Created: 23-May-2016