Last reviewed: · Curated by Ohmyfin Organisation editorial.
Field 71A is the Details of Charges — one of three codes that decides who pays the correspondent-bank fees.
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
OUR — sender pays everything; the beneficiary receives the full amount.
SHA — each side pays its own bank.
BEN — beneficiary pays all charges, deducted from the amount received.
Mandatory on every MT103.
Quick facts
SWIFT field specification
Example value
:71A:SHA
Valid characters / format
OUR / SHA / BEN
Required on MT103
Mandatory
Required on MT202
Not used
Required on pacs.008
Mandatory
Notes
Charges bearer.
Key facts
Mandatory MT103 field
Three valid codes: OUR / SHA / BEN
OUR gives the cleanest beneficiary experience
SHA is the SEPA / EU default
Frequently asked questions
Why did the beneficiary receive less?
Likely SHA or BEN was used, or FX margins applied at one of the banks. Check the Ohmyfin payment tracker to see fees per hop.
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