Sometimes the situation is reversed — you sent a legitimate wire and the recipient suspects the confirmation is fake. Here is the cleanest way to prove authenticity to a wary counterparty.
Method 1: shared UETR lookup. Both you and the recipient open the SWIFT GPI tracker (your bank's portal or Ohmyfin) and look up the UETR simultaneously. The tracker returns the same data on both sides — independent verification.
Method 2: bank-to-bank confirmation. Recipient asks their bank to confirm receipt of MT103 with the UETR. Recipient's bank queries their incoming-payments queue. This is the gold standard.
Method 3: your bank's confirmation letter. Some banks issue a signed PDF stating "We confirm we have processed MT103 UETR [X] for amount [Y]". Costs vary but is bullet-proof to a sceptical counterparty.
Method 4: notarised copy. For very high-value or contentious situations, a notary can attest that you presented a printed online-banking confirmation. Combine with the bank's confirmation letter.
What NOT to do: do not share your online-banking screenshots showing other account details. Crop or redact account numbers, balances, and other transactions. Only the relevant wire detail.
For repeat doubting counterparties, set up shared GPI portal access. Some banks (e.g. JPMorgan ACCESS, Citi CitiDirect) allow the sender to share tracker links with the beneficiary, eliminating ambiguity.
Escalate to the international payments team and complaints team. Most banks issue these on request, sometimes for a small fee.
For most casual situations yes. For contentious / legal situations, request the bank's formal confirmation.
No — SWIFT does not have a public customer-facing service. Recipient verifies via their own bank, who queries the SWIFT network.
They are either being scammed by a separate party telling them the legit wire is fake, or they are negotiating. Either way, your obligation to verify has been met.