Field 71A charge codes: OUR vs BEN vs SHA explained
Messages & Fields
By Ohmyfin Organisation Editorial Team · Published 2026-05-05 · Updated 2026-05-22
Field 71A on an MT103 determines who pays the correspondent-bank fees on a cross-border wire. The wrong choice means your beneficiary receives less than expected — or your account is debited for charges you did not anticipate.
SHA (shared) — the default for most retail wires. The sender pays the sender bank's charges; the beneficiary pays correspondent and beneficiary-bank charges deducted along the way. SHA is the SWIFT default if 71A is not specified.
OUR — sender pays everything. The sender bank quotes an "all in" fee that covers correspondent charges. In practice, the sender bank either pre-pays correspondents or chases them after the fact (some correspondents send a separate MT191 charge claim).
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Payment Not Found
No record found in SWIFT GPI or any correspondent banking data
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If you received a payment document from a third party, verify directly with your own bank before releasing goods or funds. Fake MT103 / pacs.008 confirmations are widely used in advance-fee scams. See our fraud guide →
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BEN — beneficiary pays everything. The sender bank deducts no charges; the beneficiary bears all costs. Less common; mostly used for tax / regulatory wires where the recipient is responsible for net amount.
For commercial payments where the seller has invoiced an exact amount, OUR is the safer choice — it guarantees the beneficiary receives the full amount. Expect a 25-50 USD premium over SHA.
For salary or personal payments, SHA is conventional. The beneficiary expects to absorb local charges.
For tax payments to government accounts, BEN is sometimes mandated by the receiving authority — the government wants the gross amount untouched by your charges.
After ISO 20022 migration, the equivalent element is ChrgBr with values DEBT (OUR), CRED (BEN), SHAR (SHA), or SLEV (Service Level — used in some intra-EU schemes).
Key takeaways
SHA = shared. Default for retail.
OUR = sender pays all. Guarantees beneficiary nets full amount.
BEN = beneficiary pays all. Rare except for tax wires.
If I choose OUR will the beneficiary always receive the full amount?
Almost always. Some correspondents apply post-debit charges via MT191 that your bank then bills you. In rare cases a non-cooperating correspondent deducts anyway, in which case your bank should refund the difference.
Can I change 71A after sending?
No. Once the MT103 is dispatched, the charge code is fixed. You can compensate the beneficiary separately for any unexpected deductions.
Which charge code is the default for SEPA?
SEPA uses SLEV (service level) which mandates SHA semantics with no intermediary charges. SEPA is intra-EUR only.
Why did my OUR payment still have charges deducted?
A non-GPI correspondent ignored the OUR instruction. Take the MT103 confirmation to your bank — under SWIFT rules they should refund the deduction.
Payment Located
SWIFT GPI Network · Real-time status
Payment Not Found
No record found in SWIFT GPI or any correspondent banking data
Fraud Awareness Notice
If you received a payment document from a third party, verify directly with your own bank before releasing goods or funds. Fake MT103 / pacs.008 confirmations are widely used in advance-fee scams. See our fraud guide →
Monitor for 7 Days — Free
We re-check every few hours and notify you the instant this payment appears — no account, no spam.
Watching — we'll email you the moment it appears.
Not sure what to do next?
Ask SwiftMate, our SWIFT assistant, for guidance on payment delays, rejections, and next steps.
Payments can appear hours after initiation — try again later