Last reviewed: · Curated by Ohmyfin Organisation editorial.
Field 52A is the Ordering Institution — the financial institution instructing the payment when it is different from the sender of the SWIFT message itself (rare but possible in correspondent-banking scenarios).
How an MT103 maps to the UETR (field 121), sender reference (field 20), value-date/currency/amount (field 32A) and beneficiary details. Source: SWIFT MT103 specification.
Details
Format: BIC, optionally preceded by a clearing-system code. If absent, the message sender is assumed to be the ordering institution.
Quick facts
SWIFT field specification
Example value
:52A:ORDBNK99XXX
Valid characters / format
BIC
Required on MT103
Optional
Required on MT202
Optional
Required on pacs.008
Optional
Notes
Ordering institution if different from sender.
Key facts
Optional MT103 field
BIC of the bank instructing the payment
If absent, sender = ordering institution
Frequently asked questions
When is field 52A used?
When a bank instructs a payment via a third-party correspondent that then transmits the SWIFT message.
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