How to track a SWIFT payment
with the UETR on your MT103.
To track a SWIFT payment you need its UETR, the 36-character reference in field 121 of the MT103 confirmation your bank issues. With the UETR, the sending bank can run a gpi trace, or you can paste it into a free tracker to see the current status and which bank holds the payment.
SWIFT payment tracking works because every bank that handles the transfer reports a status event against the same UETR to the SWIFT gpi Tracker. Anyone who holds the UETR can follow that trail.
Trace a SWIFT transfer
Public bank tracker lookup. Free preview.
How do I track a SWIFT transfer?
Get the transfer's UETR, the 36-character reference in field 121 of the MT103 confirmation, then either ask the sending bank to run a SWIFT gpi trace or paste the UETR into a free online tracker such as uetr.ai. Both read the status events that every bank in the chain reports against that UETR. The exact steps differ slightly depending on whether you sent the payment or are waiting to receive it.
If you are the sender
- 01
Find the UETR on your confirmation
Open the payment confirmation, transfer advice, or MT103 copy your bank issued. The UETR is the 36-character code labelled UETR, End-to-end ID, gpi reference, or {121: in the message text.
- 02
Ask your bank if it is not shown
Retail banking apps often hide the UETR. Message or call the sending bank and ask for the UETR of your SWIFT transfer sent on that date. They can read it from their systems in seconds.
- 03
Check the status against the UETR
Paste the UETR into uetr.ai for a free status check, or ask the sending bank to run a SWIFT gpi trace. Both show the latest status event and which bank reported it.
- 04
Act on what the status says
In transit (ACSP): wait or monitor. Pending (PDNG): ask the reporting bank what it needs. Rejected (RJCT): ask the sending bank for the reason code and expect a return. Credited (ACCC): tell the receiver to check the account.
If you are the receiver
- 01
Ask the sender for the UETR
The sending bank generated the UETR, so the sender is the fastest source. Ask them to copy it from their confirmation or to request it from their bank.
- 02
Request the MT103 copy if needed
If the sender cannot find the UETR, ask them to request the SWIFT copy (MT103 advice) from their bank. The UETR is in field 121 of that document.
- 03
Track the UETR yourself
Paste the UETR into uetr.ai. You do not need to be the sender, hold an account at either bank, or log in to anything. The status is read from publicly reachable gpi sources.
- 04
Contact your own bank once it shows settled
When the status reaches the beneficiary bank (ACSC) but the money is not visible, ask your bank when the incoming SWIFT payment will be credited. Many banks post incoming transfers in batches.
The whole flow in one picture: find the UETR, paste it into the tracker, read the live gpi status.
Can I track a SWIFT payment online?
Yes. If you hold the payment's UETR you can track a SWIFT payment online without any banking login. uetr.ai checks the publicly reachable SWIFT gpi tracker sources for that UETR and shows the current status and which bank last reported it. Every UETR status check is free; there is no charge and no limit of one lookup.
What the free online check cannot do is force a bank to act. It is an information tool: it tells you where the payment is so that your next call to a bank starts from facts. If you want the check repeated automatically, the paid tier monitors the transfer 24/7 and emails you when the status changes.
In short, SWIFT transfer tracking works two ways: through the sending bank, which holds the full gpi record, or through an independent online tracker that reads the publicly reachable status for your UETR. The sections below cover both routes, and how to track a SWIFT transfer from either side of the payment.
What the sending bank can do
The sending bank has direct access to the SWIFT gpi Tracker. A gpi trace run by the sending bank names every hop: each bank in the chain, the status it reported, the timestamps, and any charges deducted along the way. The sending bank can also send formal interbank inquiries and start a cancellation or recall request. For the complete hop-by-hop record, the sending bank is always the authority.
What independent trackers can do
An independent tracker like uetr.ai reads the gpi sources that are publicly reachable, without a banking login. That is usually enough to answer the questions that matter: has the payment moved, what is its current status, and which bank reported it last. It cannot see hops that no public source exposes, and it cannot contact banks on your behalf. It is read-only by design and never touches funds.
How do I track a payment with a SWIFT copy?
Open the SWIFT copy (the MT103 advice) and find field 121, printed as {121:6f8d3a2b-1c44-4f8e-9b21-7d2c9f0a1b22}. That 36-character code is the UETR. Paste it into a tracker or give it to the sending bank to run a gpi trace.
01/ Reading the SWIFT copy
A SWIFT copy is the customer-facing printout of the interbank payment message. Banks call it the MT103 copy, SWIFT advice, or payment advice. Besides field 121, the useful fields are field 20 (the sending bank's own reference), field 32A (value date, currency, amount), and field 71A (who pays the charges). Our MT103 guide explains every field.
Only field 121 tracks the payment end to end. Field 20 identifies one message between two banks and changes at every hop, which is why quoting it to a bank further down the chain leads nowhere.
02/ MT103 and ISO 20022
In November 2025 SWIFT completed the migration of cross-border payment messages to ISO 20022: banks now exchange pacs.008 messages instead of MT103s. For tracking, nothing changes. Customers still receive confirmations in the familiar MT103 layout, and the UETR is unchanged, it simply travels in the pacs.008 envelope instead of field 121.
So whether your document says MT103, pacs.008, or just "payment confirmation", look for the same thing: a 36-character code in the 8-4-4-4-12 pattern. What a valid UETR looks like →
How do I check the status of a SWIFT transfer?
Check the status against the UETR: ask the sending bank for the latest SWIFT gpi status, or paste the UETR into uetr.ai for a free online check. The status is one of a small set of codes, such as ACSP (in transit), ACCC (credited), or RJCT (rejected), reported by the banks in the chain.
A status check is a snapshot. If the transfer is still moving, the useful signal is the change: from in transit to credited, or from in transit to pending. That is what the paid monitoring tier automates, it keeps checking around the clock and emails you the moment the reported status changes, so you do not have to re-check manually.
Every bank in the chain reports its status against the same UETR, which is why one reference is enough to follow the payment end to end.
How long do SWIFT payments take?
Most SWIFT payments arrive within 1 to 2 business days, and gpi payments between well-connected banks often complete the same day, sometimes in minutes. Correspondent banks, compliance screening, currency cut-offs, weekends, and public holidays add time. Tracking the UETR shows which bank currently holds the payment, so a slow transfer stops being a mystery.
For typical timings per scenario, an arrival estimator, and the reasons transfers go quiet, see our full guide to how long an international wire takes.
What do the status codes mean?
ACSP means a bank accepted the payment and settlement is in process, so it is in transit. ACCC means the beneficiary's account has been credited, so the money has arrived. RJCT means a bank rejected the payment and it is normally returned to the sender with a reason code. PDNG means it is pending, often in a compliance review.
| Code | Meaning | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ACSP | Accepted, settlement in process: the payment is in transit | Wait or monitor; normal while the payment moves |
| ACCC | Credited to the beneficiary's account: the money arrived | Ask the receiver to check the account statement |
| RJCT | Rejected by a bank in the chain, usually returned | Ask the sending bank for the reason code and the return |
These are the three you will see most often, but there are more, including PDNG (pending), ACSC (settled at the beneficiary bank), and ACWC (accepted with change). The full plain-English decoder is on our SWIFT status codes page →
Are independent SWIFT payment trackers safe to use?
A legitimate independent tracker is safe because it only needs the UETR, never a banking login. It reads the publicly reachable SWIFT gpi status for that reference and cannot touch the money. Never use a site that asks for online banking credentials, or that promises to release or recover funds.
The safety question comes down to what a tracking site asks you for. A UETR on its own is a status lookup key: it identifies one payment inside the SWIFT network, but it cannot be used to log in anywhere, move money, or change where the payment goes. Sharing a UETR with a read-only tracker is comparable to sharing a parcel tracking number with a delivery-status site.
What a legitimate tracker never needs
Warning signs: do not use the site
What an independent tracker can legitimately see is the publicly reachable gpi status for a UETR: the current status code, the last reporting bank, and the timestamps that public sources expose. uetr.ai is built on exactly that boundary: it is independent of every bank, it reads public sources only, every UETR status check is free, and it never holds, moves, or processes money. The paid tier adds automated 24/7 monitoring with email alerts, and it stays read-only in the same way.
Can I track a SWIFT payment as the beneficiary?
Yes, but you cannot pull a gpi trace yourself: traces are run by banks, normally the sending bank. Ask the sender for the UETR and check it in a free tracker, and give your own bank the UETR, the exact amount, and the value date so it can search incoming payments.
01/ Get the UETR from the sender
The gpi record sits with the banks in the chain, so as the beneficiary you have no direct route into it. What you do have is the sender, and one sentence is enough to send them: "Please send me the UETR of the transfer, the 36-character code in field 121 of your MT103 confirmation." Every sending bank can produce it, and most confirmations already show it.
Once you hold the UETR, you track exactly like the sender does: paste it into uetr.ai and read the current status, free and without any banking login. The gpi network does not care who types the reference in; the trail is the same.
02/ Put your own bank to work
Your own bank cannot run a gpi trace on an outgoing payment it never sent, but it can search its incoming side. Give it the UETR, the exact amount and currency, and the value date, and ask it to search incoming SWIFT payments and the unapplied queue, the holding area where payments wait when the account name or number does not match cleanly.
This matters because a payment can reach your bank and still not appear on your statement. If the tracker shows the payment arrived at your bank but the money is not visible, the unapplied queue is the first place to ask about, and the UETR is the reference that lets staff find it in seconds.
Why does my UETR show no result?
Usually one of five reasons: the payment leg is not covered by public gpi sources, the record has aged out of a source's retention window, you quoted a bank internal reference or field 20 instead of the UETR, the payment is too old, or it was a domestic payment that never carried a UETR.
A no-result is not evidence that the payment failed or disappeared. It means the public sources have nothing to show for that reference right now. The table below lists the honest causes and what to do about each one.
| Cause | How to recognise it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Leg not covered by public sources | The corridor or one bank in the chain exposes no public status | Ask the sending bank for a gpi trace; its access covers every hop |
| Record aged out at the source | The check worked earlier; some sources keep records only for a few weeks | Check the account statement first; if unresolved, the sending bank still holds the full record |
| Wrong reference quoted | The code is shorter than 36 characters or not in the 8-4-4-4-12 pattern | You likely hold field 20 or a bank internal reference; get the real UETR from field 121 |
| Payment too old | The transfer completed weeks or months ago and no source shows it | Confirm arrival on the statement; request the MT103 copy if you need proof |
| Domestic payment, no UETR | The transfer never left the country (Fedwire, SEPA, local rails) | Quote the domestic reference to the bank that runs that system |
If none of these fits and the payment is recent, international, and checked with a valid UETR, re-check after a few hours: status events appear as each bank reports them, and a brand-new payment can briefly show nothing before the first event lands. Validate the format of your UETR first →
Can my bank refuse to give me the UETR?
The sender is entitled to the details of their own payment, including the UETR. If staff do not recognise the term, ask for a copy of the MT103; some banks charge a small fee, and the UETR is printed in field 121. If that fails, escalate to a written complaint.
In practice, refusals are almost always recognition problems, not policy. Front-line staff may never have heard the word UETR, while the same bank produces MT103 copies every day. Asking for "a copy of the SWIFT MT103 for my transfer" reframes the request into a routine document order, and the fee, where one applies, is typically small and fixed. The receiver of a payment should route the same request through the sender, because the document belongs to the sending bank's customer.
If the request still goes nowhere, put it in writing through the bank's formal complaint channel and name the document: the MT103 copy carrying field 121. Written complaints are tracked, escalated past the front line, and answered by staff who know the terminology. What the MT103 contains, field by field →
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about SWIFT payment tracking
How do I track a SWIFT transfer?
Get the transfer's UETR, the 36-character reference in field 121 of the MT103 confirmation, then either ask the sending bank to run a SWIFT gpi trace or paste the UETR into a free online tracker such as uetr.ai. Both read the status events that every bank in the chain reports against that UETR.
Can I track a SWIFT payment online?
Yes. If you hold the payment's UETR you can track a SWIFT payment online without any banking login. uetr.ai checks the publicly reachable SWIFT gpi tracker sources for that UETR and shows the current status and which bank last reported it. Every UETR status check is free.
How do I track a payment with a SWIFT copy?
Open the SWIFT copy (the MT103 advice) and find field 121, printed as {121: followed by a 36-character code. That code is the UETR. Paste it into a tracker or give it to the sending bank to run a gpi trace. Since November 2025 banks exchange ISO 20022 pacs.008 messages, but confirmations still show the MT103 layout and the UETR is unchanged.
How do I check the status of a SWIFT transfer?
Check the status against the UETR: ask the sending bank for the latest SWIFT gpi status, or paste the UETR into uetr.ai for a free online check. The status is one of a small set of codes, such as ACSP (in transit), ACCC (credited), or RJCT (rejected), reported by the banks in the chain.
How long do SWIFT payments take?
Most SWIFT payments arrive within 1 to 2 business days, and gpi payments between well-connected banks often complete the same day, sometimes in minutes. Correspondent banks, compliance screening, currency cut-offs, weekends, and holidays add time. Tracking the UETR shows which bank currently holds the payment.
What do the status codes mean?
ACSP means a bank accepted the payment and settlement is in process, so it is in transit. ACCC means the beneficiary's account has been credited, so the money has arrived. RJCT means a bank rejected the payment and it is normally returned to the sender with a reason code. PDNG means it is pending, often in a compliance review.
Are independent SWIFT payment trackers safe to use?
A legitimate independent tracker is safe because it only needs the UETR, never a banking login. It reads the publicly reachable SWIFT gpi status for that reference and cannot touch the money. Never use a site that asks for online banking credentials, or that promises to release or recover funds.
Can I track a SWIFT payment as the beneficiary?
Yes, but you cannot pull a gpi trace yourself: traces are run by banks, normally the sending bank. Ask the sender for the UETR and check it in a free tracker, and give your own bank the UETR, the exact amount, and the value date so it can search incoming payments.
Why does my UETR show no result?
Usually one of five reasons: the payment leg is not covered by public gpi sources, the record has aged out of a source's retention window, you quoted a bank internal reference or field 20 instead of the UETR, the payment is too old, or it was a domestic payment that never carried a UETR.
Can my bank refuse to give me the UETR?
The sender is entitled to the details of their own payment, including the UETR. If staff do not recognise the term, ask for a copy of the MT103; some banks charge a small fee, and the UETR is printed in field 121. If that fails, escalate to a written complaint.
Keep reading
The pieces behind SWIFT payment tracking: the reference, the message it travels in, and the wider family of wire references.
What is a UETR?
Format, an example, a validator, and every place your bank may show the 36-character code.
Track an international wire transfer
Bank references, Fed references, provider references, and the UETR: which one actually tracks a wire.
MT103 explained
The SWIFT copy field by field, including field 121 where the UETR lives.
Regulatory Disclosure
uetr.ai is an independent information service. We are strictly a read-only payment-monitoring tool. We never hold, move, custody, send, or process money. We are not a money transmitter or payment processor. Always consult your sending bank for the official record of any SWIFT payment.