# MT940 Transaction Type Codes: NTRF, NCHG, NDDT and the Rest

Source: https://gravam.com/blog/mt940-transaction-type-codes
Author: Tan Gravam
Published: 2026-10-15
Reviewed: 2026-10-15
Summary: The MT940 :61: transaction type codes in full: what the S, N and F letter means, and all 57 three-letter codes from TRF and CHG to the securities set.

**Every :61: line of an [MT940](https://gravam.com/blog/mt940-format-tags-explained) carries a four-character transaction type: one letter, then three characters. `NTRF`, for example, is N, then TRF: Transfer.** The letter says what the three characters are, and for N and F they come from a short list that SWIFT keeps. This page is that list, all 57 codes.

## The letter in front

- **S** + three digits: the SWIFT message type behind the entry, such as `S103`.
- **N** + three characters: a code from the list below, for entries arising from payment and transfer instructions.
- **F** + three characters: a code from the same list, for entries the account servicing institution originated itself.

So `NCHG` and `FCHG` are both charges; the letter says who started them. A bank's MT940 description says which codes it sends — most send a handful, and some put their own codes in the :86: field beside the line.

> Have an MT940 in front of you? The free [**Bank File Reader**](https://gravam.com/tools/bank-file-reader) reads every :61: line and spells out its code.

## The codes

From SWIFT's User Handbook, as Banco Bradesco reproduces it in its MT940 layout, checked against Commerzbank's list. The third column is how each appears in a file.

| Code | Meaning | As it appears |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **BNK** | Securities Related Item - Bank fees | `NBNK`, `FBNK` |
| **BOE** | Bill of exchange | `NBOE`, `FBOE` |
| **BRF** | Brokerage fee | `NBRF`, `FBRF` |
| **CAR** | Securities Related Item - Corporate Actions Related | `NCAR`, `FCAR` |
| **CAS** | Securities Related Item - Cash in Lieu | `NCAS`, `FCAS` |
| **CHG** | Charges and other expenses | `NCHG`, `FCHG` |
| **CHK** | Cheques | `NCHK`, `FCHK` |
| **CLR** | Cash letters/Cheques remittance | `NCLR`, `FCLR` |
| **CMI** | Cash management item - No detail | `NCMI`, `FCMI` |
| **CMN** | Cash management item - Notional pooling | `NCMN`, `FCMN` |
| **CMP** | Compensation claims | `NCMP`, `FCMP` |
| **CMS** | Cash management item - Sweeping | `NCMS`, `FCMS` |
| **CMT** | Cash management item - Topping | `NCMT`, `FCMT` |
| **CMZ** | Cash management item - Zero balancing | `NCMZ`, `FCMZ` |
| **COL** | Collections | `NCOL`, `FCOL` |
| **COM** | Commission | `NCOM`, `FCOM` |
| **CPN** | Securities Related Item - Coupon payments | `NCPN`, `FCPN` |
| **DCR** | Documentary credit | `NDCR`, `FDCR` |
| **DDT** | Direct Debit Item | `NDDT`, `FDDT` |
| **DIS** | Securities Related Item - Gains disbursement | `NDIS`, `FDIS` |
| **DIV** | Securities Related Item - Dividends | `NDIV`, `FDIV` |
| **EQA** | Equivalent amount | `NEQA`, `FEQA` |
| **EXT** | Securities Related Item - External transfer for own account | `NEXT`, `FEXT` |
| **FEX** | Foreign exchange | `NFEX`, `FFEX` |
| **INT** | Interest | `NINT`, `FINT` |
| **LBX** | Lock box | `NLBX`, `FLBX` |
| **LDP** | Loan deposit | `NLDP`, `FLDP` |
| **MAR** | Securities Related Item - Margin payments/Receipts | `NMAR`, `FMAR` |
| **MAT** | Securities Related Item - Maturity | `NMAT`, `FMAT` |
| **MGT** | Securities Related Item - Management fees | `NMGT`, `FMGT` |
| **MSC** | Miscellaneous | `NMSC`, `FMSC` |
| **NWI** | Securities Related Item - New issues distribution | `NNWI`, `FNWI` |
| **ODC** | Overdraft charge | `NODC`, `FODC` |
| **OPT** | Securities Related Item - Options | `NOPT`, `FOPT` |
| **PCH** | Securities Related Item - Purchase | `NPCH`, `FPCH` |
| **POP** | Securities Related Item - Pair-off proceeds | `NPOP`, `FPOP` |
| **PRN** | Securities Related Item - Principal pay-down/pay-up | `NPRN`, `FPRN` |
| **REC** | Securities Related Item - Tax reclaim | `NREC`, `FREC` |
| **RED** | Securities Related Item - Redemption/Withdrawal | `NRED`, `FRED` |
| **RIG** | Securities Related Item - Rights | `NRIG`, `FRIG` |
| **RTI** | Returned item | `NRTI`, `FRTI` |
| **SAL** | Securities Related Item - Sale | `NSAL`, `FSAL` |
| **SEC** | Securities | `NSEC`, `FSEC` |
| **SLE** | Securities Related Item - Securities lending related | `NSLE`, `FSLE` |
| **STO** | Standing order | `NSTO`, `FSTO` |
| **STP** | Securities Related Item - Stamp duty | `NSTP`, `FSTP` |
| **SUB** | Securities Related Item - Subscription | `NSUB`, `FSUB` |
| **SWP** | Securities Related Item - SWAP payment | `NSWP`, `FSWP` |
| **TAX** | Securities Related Item - Withholding tax payment | `NTAX`, `FTAX` |
| **TCK** | Travellers' cheques | `NTCK`, `FTCK` |
| **TCM** | Securities Related Item - Tripartite collateral management | `NTCM`, `FTCM` |
| **TRA** | Securities Related Item - Internal transfer for own account | `NTRA`, `FTRA` |
| **TRF** | Transfer | `NTRF`, `FTRF` |
| **TRN** | Securities Related Item - Transaction fee | `NTRN`, `FTRN` |
| **UWC** | Securities Related Item - Underwriting commission | `NUWC`, `FUWC` |
| **VDA** | Value date adjustment | `NVDA`, `FVDA` |
| **WAR** | Securities Related Item - Warrant | `NWAR`, `FWAR` |

About half the list is securities-related items; the payment codes — TRF, CHG, INT, DDT, STO, COM, MSC and their kin — are the ones on a cash account's statement. Commerzbank's list also has ECK, Eurocheques, which the handbook version reproduced here does not.

## The same movement in camt

A camt.053 statement does not use these codes. It carries ISO's three-level [bank transaction code](https://gravam.com/blog/iso-20022-bank-transaction-codes) instead, so an incoming SEPA transfer that is `NTRF` here is `PMNT-RCDT-ESCT` there. Moving an importer from MT940 to camt means a new mapping on this field, not a renamed one.

## Primary sources

The transaction type identification codes of MT940 field 61, sub-field 6, as reproduced from the SWIFT User Handbook (November 2008) in Banco Bradesco's MT940 layout, cross-checked against Commerzbank's list of SWIFT transaction codes. SWIFT's own handbook is behind a login.

- Banco Bradesco — MT940 bank reconciliation file layout (English), section 2.1 SWIFT Transaction codes, from SWIFT User Handbook November 2008 — accessed 2026-10-15 — https://banco.bradesco/assets/pessoajuridica/pdf/solucoes-integradas/outros/layout-de-arquivo/conciliacao_bancaria_mt940_en.pdf
- Commerzbank — S.W.I.F.T. Transaction Codes — accessed 2026-10-15 — https://www.commerzbank.com/ms/documents/en/swift-transaction-codes-en.pdf

## Questions this article answers

**Q: What does NTRF mean in an MT940?**

It is the transaction type of a :61: statement line: N, then TRF, which is Transfer in SWIFT's list of codes. N marks a code from that list; the three letters after it say what kind of entry it is. NTRF marks a transfer, in either direction: the D or C mark earlier in the same line says which.

**Q: What is the difference between NTRF, FTRF and S103 in field 61?**

The first letter says what follows. S is followed by the number of the SWIFT message type behind the entry, such as S103. N is followed by one of SWIFT's three-letter codes. F is followed by one of the same codes, for an entry the account servicing institution originated itself.

**Q: Where do the MT940 transaction type codes come from?**

From SWIFT's standards for the MT940, field 61, sub-field 6 (format 1!a3!c). The list itself is in SWIFT's User Handbook, which is behind a login; banks reproduce it in their MT940 format descriptions, and this page is built from two of those.