SWIFT MT103 Field 54A — Receiver's Correspondent
Field 54A identifies the receiver's correspondent — where the receiver holds its nostro account for this payment currency. Correspondent banking explained →
Details
Format: BIC (8 or 11 characters), optionally preceded by a party identifier (account number). Variants 54B (clearing code and address) and 54D (free-format name and address) also exist. Field 54A is optional, used only when the receiver of the SWIFT message needs the payment funded through a specific correspondent rather than directly. When absent, the settlement defaults to a direct account relationship between the message sender and receiver.
Field 54A is the mirror of field 53A: field 53A tells the chain where the funds come from (the sender's nostro), and field 54A tells the chain where the funds go to (the receiver's nostro). Together they describe both ends of the interbank settlement. For example: sender's bank sends USD via its JPMorgan Chase nostro (field 53A = CHASUS33) to the receiver's bank, which holds its USD nostro at Citibank (field 54A = CITIUS33). The USD funds therefore flow from JPMorgan to Citibank through the Fedwire interbank settlement system.
In many correspondent banking arrangements, both field 53A and field 54A are present simultaneously. The payment path is: sender → sender's correspondent (field 53A) → interbank settlement system → receiver's correspondent (field 54A) → receiver → beneficiary bank (field 57A) → beneficiary (field 59). The SWIFT GPI tracking trail (visible on Ohmyfin) shows all of these hops in order, each with their status update timestamp and fees.
Field 54A is optional and frequently omitted in simple bilateral payment relationships where the receiver can determine its own settlement route from the payment currency and its standard correspondent banking arrangements. Complex correspondent chains — particularly those involving non-major currencies or countries with limited banking infrastructure — are more likely to specify both field 53A and field 54A to avoid misrouting.
In ISO 20022 pacs.008, the concept maps to a combination of settlement method information and intermediate agent identification. The pacs.008 SettlmtInf element specifies the settlement method (e.g. INDA = settled via an account at the debtor agent; INGA = settled via an account at the creditor agent), and the specific nostro correspondent is identified through IntrmyAgt elements or the ClrSys (clearing system) specification.
Quick facts
| Example value | :54A:RECVCORR2XXX |
|---|---|
| Valid characters / format | BIC |
| Required on MT103 | Optional |
| Required on MT202 | Optional |
| Required on pacs.008 | Optional |
| Notes | Receiver's correspondent. |
Key facts
- Optional — present only when the receiver holds its funding nostro at a specific correspondent
- Format: BIC preferred (54A); also 54B (clearing code) and 54D (free-format)
- Mirror of field 53A — 53A is sender's nostro side, 54A is receiver's nostro side
- Both 53A and 54A can appear in complex multi-correspondent payment chains
- Omitted in simple direct bilateral payment relationships
- pacs.008 equivalent: IntrmyAgt elements and SettlmtInf settlement method
Frequently asked questions
Field 53A vs 54A — what is the difference?
53A (Sender's Correspondent) identifies the bank where the sender holds the nostro account being debited — i.e. where the funds come from. 54A (Receiver's Correspondent) identifies the bank where the receiver holds the nostro account being credited — i.e. where the funds land. Together they describe the full interbank settlement path.
Is field 54A required if field 53A is present?
Not necessarily — they are independent optional fields. Field 53A may be present without 54A (if only the sender's funding route needs to be specified), or 54A may be present without 53A (if the receiver's nostro correspondent needs to be specified but the sender's is implied). Both can be absent in simple direct bilateral arrangements.
Why would a bank specify field 54A?
When the SWIFT message receiver does not have a direct USD (or other payment currency) account with every bank it deals with, it needs to tell the sender where to deliver the funds. By specifying its nostro correspondent in field 54A, the receiver ensures the funds are delivered to an account it can access, rather than leaving the routing to chance.
Can field 54A cause a payment to be delayed?
Yes — if field 54A specifies a correspondent that is not reachable from the sender's correspondent in the normal interbank settlement cycle, the payment may need to go through an additional hop. Also, if field 54A is incorrect or outdated (e.g. the receiver changed its nostro correspondent), the payment may be misrouted or returned.
How does field 54A appear in the SWIFT GPI tracking trail?
The receiver's correspondent identified in field 54A typically appears in the SWIFT GPI tracking trail as one of the hops before the final beneficiary bank. On Ohmyfin, each correspondent bank in the chain is listed with its BIC, timestamp, and status update. The field 54A bank will appear between the field 53A sender's correspondent and the field 57A beneficiary bank.
Related guides
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