Last reviewed: · Curated by Ohmyfin Organisation editorial.
MT103 and MT202 often travel together. The MT103 carries the customer payment instruction (sender → beneficiary). The MT202 (or MT202 COV) is the bank-to-bank cover payment that actually moves the funds between correspondent banks.
Details
For a USD payment from a UK customer to a Polish beneficiary, the UK bank sends an MT103 directly to the beneficiary's Polish bank, and an MT202 to its US correspondent to fund the transfer in the US.
MT202 COV ("cover") is the ISO 7775-compliant version that includes the underlying customer information, required for sanctions transparency.
Both messages carry the same UETR (field 121), so Ohmyfin can link them.
At-a-glance comparison
MT103 vs MT202 / MT202COV — side-by-side comparison
MT103
MT202 / MT202COV
Purpose
Customer credit transfer
Bank-to-bank cover payment
Parties
Sender → beneficiary customer
Bank → bank (funds the MT103)
Customer data
Yes — full
Only on MT202COV
UETR
Field 121
Same UETR as paired MT103
Sanctions transparency
Built-in
Requires MT202COV variant
Typical pair
One per customer payment
Funds one or more MT103s
Key facts
MT103: customer payment
MT202: bank-to-bank cover
MT202 COV: cover with sanctions transparency
Same UETR ties the two messages together
Frequently asked questions
Why does my payment have two SWIFT messages?
Standard cover-payment model. The 103 is the instruction; the 202 is the funding leg.
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