You have a reference number from your bank — but every bank calls it something different: "payment reference", "wire reference", "transaction ID", "SWIFT reference". Some of these can be used to track your payment end-to-end; others only work at your own bank. This guide explains each reference type and how to use it.
The UETR (Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference) is the gold standard for tracking international SWIFT wires. It is a 36-character UUID (e.g. a1b2c3d4-5e6f-4a7b-8c9d-0e1f2a3b4c5d) that travels unchanged from the originating bank to the beneficiary bank. It lives in MT103 field 121. If you have the UETR, paste it into Ohmyfin for free real-time status — which bank is holding it, what happened at each hop, fees deducted. The UETR is the only reference that gives you full end-to-end visibility.
The TRN (Transaction Reference Number) is the bank's own internal reference — it appears in MT103 field 20 and is up to 16 characters. The problem: every bank assigns its own TRN, so the TRN changes at each hop. Your bank's TRN is different from the first correspondent's TRN, which is different from the beneficiary bank's booking reference. A TRN only helps you at the bank that assigned it. You can still enter a TRN on Ohmyfin — the platform will try to locate the UETR by searching the SWIFT network by reference, though results are not guaranteed.
The IMAD/OMAD is the Fedwire reference for US domestic wire transfers. IMAD (Input Message Accountability Data) is assigned by the sending bank; OMAD (Output Message Accountability Data) is assigned by the Federal Reserve. For a domestic US wire that never leaves the Fedwire system, these are the primary trace references. Call your bank with the OMAD to get a confirmed Fedwire trace.
CHAPS Reference is the UK equivalent for sterling same-day wires. Each CHAPS payment gets a unique reference from the Bank of England infrastructure. If your GBP wire appears stuck, call your bank with the CHAPS reference for a trace.
How to get the UETR if you don't have it: call your bank's international payments desk and ask for "field 121 from the SWIFT MT103 confirmation". All GPI member banks — which covers practically every major international bank — are required to provide this. If the customer service agent does not know what a UETR is, escalate to the international payments team or corporate banking desk.
What to do if Ohmyfin returns no data: a UETR that returns no GPI data could mean the payment originated from a non-GPI bank (rare), the UETR was typed incorrectly (double-check the hyphens — format is 8-4-4-4-12), or the payment has not yet entered the SWIFT network (still in your bank's internal queue). Wait 2–4 hours from submission and try again. If still no data, contact your bank.
A 16-character reference is the TRN (field 20) — not the UETR. You can enter it on Ohmyfin and it will attempt to locate the UETR by reference. For definitive tracking, ask your bank to provide the 36-character UETR from "MT103 field 121".
Count the characters including hyphens. If it is exactly 36 characters in the format xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx, it is a UETR. If it is shorter or formatted differently, it is likely a TRN or another internal reference. Always ask the sender for the UETR specifically if you need real-time tracking.
ACSP (Accepted, Settlement in Progress) for more than 48 hours usually means the payment is held at a correspondent bank for compliance review. Contact your sending bank's investigations team with the UETR and ask them to submit a GPI status inquiry to identify which bank is holding it and why.