Last reviewed: · Curated by Ohmyfin Organisation editorial.
Field 59 is the Beneficiary Customer — the final recipient of the payment. Mandatory on every MT103.
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: account number on line 1 (preceded by /), then 1-4 lines of 35 characters for the beneficiary name and address. Variant 59A uses a BIC instead of free-format details when the beneficiary is itself a financial institution. Variant 59F is the structured ISO 20022-aligned format.
Quick facts
SWIFT field specification
Example value
:59:/87654321\nJANE ROE\n55 BEACH RD\nSYDNEY AU
Valid characters / format
Account + 4 free-text lines
Required on MT103
Mandatory
Required on MT202
Not used
Required on pacs.008
Mandatory
Notes
Beneficiary. Mapped to <Cdtr> on pacs.008.
Key facts
Mandatory MT103 field
/account + name + address up to 4 × 35 chars
59A for FI beneficiaries (BIC)
59F for structured ISO 20022 alignment
Frequently asked questions
Does field 59 need an IBAN?
For payments inside SEPA and in many EMEA countries, yes. Outside SEPA, a local account number is acceptable.
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