MT940 Format

What is MT940?

MT940 is the SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) standard message type for customer bank account statements. First introduced in the 1970s, it has been the dominant format for electronic bank statement delivery across Europe, Asia-Pacific, and international banking for decades.

The “MT” stands for Message Type, and “940” identifies it specifically as a Customer Statement Message. It belongs to SWIFT’s Category 9 (Cash Management and Customer Status) message family.

Structure and Tags

MT940 uses a line-based format with fields identified by colon-delimited tags (:XX:). Each statement contains a structured sequence of mandatory and optional tags:

• :20: — Transaction Reference Number (unique identifier for the statement)
• :25: — Account Identification (IBAN or proprietary account number)
• :28C: — Statement Number/Sequence Number
• :60F: — Opening Balance (with date, currency, and amount)
• :61: — Statement Line (one per transaction: value date, amount, reference)
• :86: — Information to Account Owner (transaction details and descriptions)
• :62F: — Closing Balance (final available balance)

The :86: tag is the most challenging to parse because its subfield structure varies significantly between banks. Some banks use structured subfields (?20, ?21, etc.), while others provide free-text descriptions.

Who Uses MT940?

MT940 is used by virtually every major bank in Europe and many banks globally. It serves corporate treasury departments, ERP systems (SAP, Oracle), accounting software, and cash management platforms. Banks typically deliver MT940 files via SWIFT FileAct, EBICS, or online banking portals.

Deprecation Timeline

SWIFT has announced that MT message types, including MT940, will be deprecated in favor of ISO 20022 (CAMT.053) formats. The migration deadline is set for November 2025 for cross-border payments, with full MT940 retirement expected by 2027-2028. Financial institutions should begin planning their migration to CAMT.053 now.

File Extensions

MT940 files commonly use extensions like .sta, .mt940, .940, .swi, or .txt. There is no official standard for file extensions — it varies by bank and delivery channel.

Why FinConvert?

FinConvert’s MT940 parser handles the full specification, including bank-specific :86: variations, multi-statement files, and edge cases in date/amount parsing. Every field mapping is validated against the official SWIFT documentation and tracked in our spec-compliance matrix.