SWIFT MT103 Field 53A — Sender's Correspondent
Field 53A is the Sender's Correspondent — the bank where the sender holds the funding nostro account for this payment currency. Learn about correspondent banking →
Details
Format: BIC (8 or 11 characters), optionally preceded by a party identifier (account number). Variants 53B (clearing code and address) and 53D (free-format name and address) also exist. Field 53A is optional and is present only when the funding nostro account is held at a bank other than the receiver of the SWIFT message. For direct bilateral payments where the sender and receiver have a direct account relationship in the payment currency, field 53A is omitted.
The concept of field 53A is most easily understood with an example. A German bank (Deutsche Bank, DEUTDEFF) sends a USD payment. Deutsche Bank does not keep a USD nostro account at every US bank it deals with — instead, it keeps its main USD nostro account at its US correspondent, say JPMorgan Chase (CHASUS33). When Deutsche Bank sends an MT103 to a beneficiary bank, field 53A contains CHASUS33 — telling every bank in the chain that the USD funds should be drawn from Deutsche Bank's account at JPMorgan Chase.
Field 53A interacts with the receiver's correspondent (field 54A) to define the full settlement path. The sender's correspondent (53A) debits the sender bank's nostro account; the receiver's correspondent (54A) credits the receiver bank's vostro account. Between them, the funds move through the interbank settlement system of the payment currency (e.g. Fedwire for USD, TARGET2 for EUR, CHAPS for GBP).
Not all MT103 messages include field 53A. When the message receiver is itself the sender's nostro account holder (i.e. the receiver is the correspondent), field 53A is redundant and omitted. Field 53A is also omitted when the payment is in the local currency of both banks (e.g. two UK banks settling GBP — both access CHAPS directly). Field 53A is most commonly seen on cross-currency correspondent payments where the funding route is non-obvious.
In ISO 20022 pacs.008, the concept of field 53A maps to the IntrmyAgt1 (Intermediary Agent 1) element or to the settlement route information in the SettlmtInf (Settlement Information) block. The pacs.008 settlement method (INDA, INGA, CLRG, COVE) specifies how the interbank settlement is to occur, with the specific nostro account and settlement agent identified in related sub-elements.
Quick facts
| Example value | :53A:SENDCORR1XXX |
|---|---|
| Valid characters / format | BIC |
| Required on MT103 | Optional |
| Required on MT202 | Optional |
| Required on pacs.008 | Optional |
| Notes | Sender's correspondent. |
Key facts
- Optional — present only when the funding nostro is at a different bank from the SWIFT receiver
- Format: BIC preferred (53A); also 53B (clearing code) and 53D (free-format)
- Identifies the bank where the sender holds the payment-currency nostro account
- Interacts with field 54A (receiver's correspondent) to define the full settlement path
- Most common on cross-currency correspondent payments
- pacs.008 equivalent: IntrmyAgt1 or settlement route information in SettlmtInf
Frequently asked questions
Is field 53A required?
Only when the funds need to be drawn from a correspondent account at a bank other than the SWIFT message receiver. For direct bilateral payments where the receiver holds the sender's nostro account, field 53A is omitted. For cross-currency payments routed through a third-party correspondent, field 53A is typically present.
What is a nostro account?
A nostro account is an account a bank holds at a foreign bank, denominated in the foreign currency. For example, a UK bank holds a USD nostro account at a US correspondent bank. "Nostro" is Latin for "ours" — it is the account the bank refers to as "our account held abroad." The mirror account (the foreign bank's view of that account) is called a vostro account.
What is the difference between field 53A and field 54A?
Field 53A (Sender's Correspondent) is on the sender side — it identifies where the payment funds come from. Field 54A (Receiver's Correspondent) is on the receiver side — it identifies where the receiver's account is credited. Together they define the interbank settlement path for the payment.
Can field 53A appear on a domestic payment?
Rarely — domestic payments typically settle through the same national clearing system that both banks access directly (e.g. Fedwire for USD in the US, CHAPS for GBP in the UK). Correspondent accounts are needed mainly for cross-border or cross-currency payments. A domestic MT103 with field 53A is unusual and may indicate a complex multi-bank arrangement.
How does field 53A affect the SWIFT GPI tracking trail?
The SWIFT GPI tracking trail shows all the banks involved in the payment chain. The bank identified in field 53A is one of the correspondent banks that will appear in the tracking trail on Ohmyfin. When Ohmyfin shows the sender's correspondent bank in the tracking results, it corresponds to the field 53A value in the original MT103.
Related guides
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