Why is my SWIFT payment stuck at a correspondent bank?

A SWIFT payment stuck at a correspondent bank is almost always there for sanctions / compliance screening, missing routing details, or because the next bank in the chain is closed for the weekend or a local holiday. Track the UETR on Ohmyfin to see which correspondent has the payment, then ask the sender's bank to file a free MT199 enquiry.

Details

Correspondent banks (the intermediaries between the sender's bank and the beneficiary's bank) hold payments for legitimate reasons. The most common: sanctions hit at the screening engine (often a false positive on a name), missing or invalid downstream BIC, queue at the receiving correspondent, or local holiday at the next leg.

Use Ohmyfin to identify exactly which correspondent is holding the payment. This is critical — without the bank's name you can't ask anyone the right question.

Then ask the sender to instruct the sender's bank to send an MT199 enquiry to the holding bank quoting the UETR. The MT199 is a free service-message asking 'why is this payment stuck and when will it move?'. Banks normally respond within 1-3 business days.

If the holding bank reports a sanctions or compliance hold, expect the sender (and possibly the beneficiary) to provide source-of-funds documentation, invoices, or KYC information. Without that, the payment will eventually be returned.

If the holding bank reports it's queued for processing, the sender's bank can sometimes ask for prioritisation — especially for GPI member banks.

Key facts

• Most common cause: sanctions / compliance screening
• Track UETR on Ohmyfin to identify the holding bank
• Sender's bank can file a free MT199 enquiry
• Compliance holds need source-of-funds documentation
• GPI banks can sometimes request prioritisation

Frequently asked questions

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