SWIFT MT 700 Field Definitions for Letters of Credit

SWIFT is the secure messaging network banks use to send encrypted, trusted instructions, and it's the backbone of international trade payment: letters of credit, documentary collections, cash-in-advance, open accounts, and bank payment obligations all run on it. For a letter of credit, the key message type is MT 700, and under UCP 600 an L/C advised via SWIFT MT 700 is itself the operative credit instrument. Here's what its fields mean.

What MT 700 is

MT 700 is sent by the issuing bank to the advising bank to convey the terms and conditions of a documentary credit. Reading it correctly matters because these fields are the contract you'll be paid against.