UETR: the end-to-end payment reference
The Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference is a 36-character identifier used to connect a payment across its message journey. It is not an account number or a certificate that funds exist. Swift’s UETR overview explains its role in the payment chain.
Use Find Your UETR Number for document locations, or the format explainer for the character groups.
Transaction reference, InstrId and EndToEndId
Transaction reference is a general label. A bank may use it for its own payment or booking ID. Ask which system issued it and which bank can search it.
InstrId identifies an instruction between the instructing and instructed parties. EndToEndId identifies a transaction from the initiating party’s perspective and can help connect payment information to business records. Neither label means “UETR”. A message ID can identify an enclosing message rather than the particular customer payment.
When asking for help, preserve each identifier under its original label. Renaming every number “SWIFT reference” makes an investigation harder.
BIC identifies a party; IBAN identifies an account
BIC, commonly called a SWIFT code, is a Business Identifier Code used to identify business parties and support addressing and routing. It is not an individual payment’s tracking reference.
IBAN is an International Bank Account Number using a registered national format. Its structure can be checked without proving who controls the account or whether it is open. Not every country uses IBAN. Swift describes the standards on its data standards page.
Instruction date, booking date and value date
Instruction date concerns when an order was created or submitted. Booking date concerns when a bank records an entry. Value date concerns the effective date used for the relevant balance or settlement treatment.
These dates can differ. A value date alone does not prove the beneficiary could use the funds at a particular hour. Ask which event and timezone a timestamp describes before comparing two records.
Settlement and available balance
Settlement concerns the discharge of payment obligations at the relevant stage. A statement about an interbank leg is not automatically a statement about a customer’s available balance. Account credit and availability should be checked with the account-holding bank.
For a code rather than a plain-language label, use the Status Decoder. Keep the reporting institution, time and reference alongside the code so its scope is clear.