The description of the SWIFT MT Message Block 2 (Application Header) is provided in the table below. For the sake of clarity, following elements have been added: Start of block indicator, Block identifier, Separator and End of block indicator. There are in general not part of block descriptions in the available documentation. But I think it can be useful.
Before looking at all the Tags, an important remark about the tag Input / Output ID: Input Message and Output Message are from SWIFT’s Point of view. Input messages go into SWIFT systems and therefore come out of the bank. Output messages come out of SWIFT systems and therefore go into the bank systems.
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| # | Tag or field name | M / O | Description and Semantic | Content / Options | Example |
| Application Header Block for Input Message | |||||
| Start of block indicator | M | The character { indicates the beginning of a block. | Left curly bracket { | { | |
| Block identifier | M | 1 to 3 alphanumeric characters used to define block contents. Basic header block identiifer is 2. | 3c | 2 | |
| Separator | M | The character : indicates the end of the block identifier. | Colon : | : | |
| 1 | Input / Output ID | M | For an input message, the Input/Output Identifier consists of the single letter 'I' | 1a | I |
| 2 | SWIFT Message Type | M | The Message Type consists of 3 digits which define the MT number of the message being input | 3n | 103 |
| 3 | Destination Address | M | This address is the 12-character SWIFT address of the receiver of the message. It defines the destination to which the message should be sent. | 12x | BANKDEFFAXXX |
| 4 | Priority | O | This character, used within FIN Application Headers only, defines the priority with which a message is delivered. The possible values are: S = System U = Urgent N = Normal | 1a | U |
| 5 | Delivery Monitoring | O | Delivery monitoring options apply only to FIN user-to-user messages. The chosen option is expressed as a single digit: 1 = Non-Delivery Warning 2 = Delivery Notification 3 = Non-Delivery Warning and Delivery Notification If the message has priority 'U', the user must request delivery monitoring option '1' or '3'. If the message has priority 'N', the user can request delivery monitoring option '2' or, by leaving the option blank, no delivery monitoring. | 1x | 3 |
| 6 | Obsolescence Period | O | The obsolescence period defines the period of time after which a Delayed Message (DLM) trailer is added to a FIN user-to-user message when the message is delivered. For urgent priority messages, it is also the period of time after which, if the message remains undelivered, a Non-Delivery Warning is generated. The values for the obsolescence period are: 003 (15 minutes) for 'U' priority, and 020 (100 minutes) for 'N' priority. | 3n | 003 |
| End of block indicator | M | The Block identifier end tag | Right curly bracket | } | |
| Application Header Block for Output Message | |||||
| Start of block indicator | M | The character { indicates the beginning of a block. | Left curly bracket { | { | |
| Block identifier | M | 1 to 3 alphanumeric characters used to define block contents. Basic header block identiifer is 2. | 3c | 2 | |
| Separator | M | The character : indicates the end of the block identifier. | Colon : | : | |
| 1 | Input / Output ID | M | For an input message, the Input/Output Identifier consists of the single letter 'O' | 1a | O |
| 2 | SWIFT Message Type | M | The Message Type consists of 3 digits which define the MT number of the message being input | 3n | 103 |
| 3 | Input Time | M | The Input Time local to the sender of the message | The hour (HH) and minute (MM) on which the sender sent the message to SWIFT. | 2212 |
| 4 | MIR - Message Input Reference | M | The MIR consists of four elements: 1. Sender's Date - Date when the Sender sent the message 2. The Logical Termial (LT) Address is a 12-character FIN address. It is the address of the sending LT for this message and includes the Branch Code. It consists of: - the Sender BIC 8 CODE (8 characters) - the Logical Terminal Code (1 upper case alphabetic character) - the Sender BIC Branch Code (3 characters). It defines the sender of the message to the SWIFT network. 3. Session number - As appropriate, the current application session number based on the Login. See block 1, field 4 4. Sequence number - See block 1, field 5 | 1. Date: YYMMDD 2. LT format: minLength=12 maxLength=12 [A-Z]{4}[A-Z]{2}[0-9A-Z]{2}[0-9A-Z][0-9A-Z]{3} 3. Session number: 4!n pattern - [0-9]{4} 4. Sequence number: minLength=6 maxLength=6 [0-9]{6} | MIR : 180711BANKFRPPAXXX7635123456 It includes: 1. Date: 180711 2. LTAddress - BANKFRPPAXXX 3. Session number: 7635 4. Sequence number: 123456 |
| 5 | Output Date | M | The output date, local to the receiver | YYMMDD | 120910 |
| 6 | Output Time | M | The output time, local to the receiver | HHMM | 1214 |
| 7 | Priority | O | This character, used within FIN Application Headers only. It defines the priority with which a message is delivered. The possible values are: S = System U = Urgent N = Normal | 1a | U |
| End of block indicator | M | The Block identifier end tag | Right curly bracket | } |
Example of Application Header Block for Input Message
{2:I103SOGEFRPPZXXXU3003}
With spaces between fields (more easy to read):
{2:I 103 SOGEFRPPZXXX U 3 003}
Example of Application Header Block for Output Message
{2:O2021345160418SOGEFRPPAXXX00897254971604181345N}
With spaces between fields (more easy to read):
{2: O 202 1345 160418SOGEFRPPAXXX0089725497 160418 1345 N}
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