Guides · Transfer Problems
SWIFT Error "Field 57 Missing": What It Means and How to Fix It
Field 57 is just the recipient's bank. Here's what your bank is really telling you, why "missing" isn't always an error, and exactly what to give it so the payment goes through.
Quick answer
In a SWIFT payment, field 57 is called the "Account With Institution". It names the bank that holds the recipient's account. When your bank or payment app says "field 57 missing", it means the payment doesn't say clearly which bank the recipient banks with, so it can't be routed.
It's a detail problem, not a lost-money problem. Your money is either still with you (if it was stopped before it left) or on its way back to you (if a bank in the chain sent it back). Either way, the fix is the same: get the recipient's bank details complete and correct, and send it again.
What to give your bank: the recipient's bank's full name, its SWIFT/BIC code (8 or 11 characters), and any local bank code the country needs. If the recipient's bank isn't directly connected to yours, also ask whether an intermediary bank is needed.
On this page
What field 57 is, in plain English
A SWIFT payment message is built from numbered fields, each holding one piece of information. Three of them describe where the money is going:
- Your bankSends the payment.
- Field
56: intermediary bank (optional)A bank in the middle that helps move the money when your bank and the recipient's bank have no direct link. Also called a correspondent bank. - Field
57: the recipient's bank ("Account With Institution")The bank that services the account you're paying into. - Field
59: the recipientTheir name and account number or IBAN.
Swift's definition of field 57 is that it names the institution which services the account for the beneficiary, and that this applies even if the account is given as an IBAN. An IBAN doesn't replace it.
The bank can be identified in a few formats. The preferred one is the bank's SWIFT/BIC code (also written as "option A"). Other formats use a location, a local clearing code or the bank's name and address, but the standard treats a name and address as a last resort for when no BIC is available.
Why "missing" isn't always an error
This is the detail almost every guide misses. Under the standard, field 57 is optional. Swift's rule is that when it isn't present, the bank receiving the message is assumed to be the recipient's bank as well.
So the field can be left out safely when your payment is being sent straight to the recipient's own bank. It becomes a problem when the bank receiving the message isn't the recipient's bank, and the payment doesn't say who is. There's also a hard rule for the common case where a payment travels through an intermediary bank: if field 56 (the intermediary) is filled in, field 57 must be filled in too. Swift's validation rules for the straight-through version of the payment message (MT 103 STP) reject a message that has an intermediary bank but no recipient's bank, with error code C81.
In plain words: your bank's system either couldn't work out which bank the recipient banks with, or it had an intermediary bank in the route without a recipient's bank to hand the money on to.
Why it happens
- The recipient's bank details weren't supplied or weren't recognised. You entered only an account number or IBAN, or a bank name that your bank's system couldn't match to a SWIFT code.
- An intermediary bank was added, but no recipient's bank. This breaks the rule above. It's common when the destination bank isn't directly reachable and the route was built by hand.
- The wrong kind of code went into the bank field. For example a local bank or branch number where a SWIFT code belongs, or a SWIFT code with a typo. A SWIFT code is always 8 or 11 letters and digits, and characters 5–6 are always a country code.
- The SWIFT code belongs to a different institution or a different office than the recipient's account. Some banks use branch codes, and the main-office code may not be the one that account needs.
- The country needs a local clearing code as well. The standard has codes for national clearing systems, for example a US Fedwire routing number, an Australian BSB or an Indian IFSC. Sending only a SWIFT code can leave the payment unroutable at the last step.
- The payment form never asked for it. Some payment forms don't show every field, so the bank's system has to fill field 57 in from other details. If it can't, it's left empty.
Why you might see a different message
"Field 57 missing" is a technical phrase, and your bank may not use it. You might instead see "beneficiary bank not identified", "account with institution required", "BIC required", or just "payment rejected: bank details incomplete". All of these mean the same thing.
Since 22 November 2025, banks exchange cross-border payments on Swift in the ISO 20022 format instead of the older MT messages. In that format, field 57 is called the creditor agent (the recipient's bank) and field 56 the intermediary agent. The meaning is the same, so a message naming a "creditor agent" problem points to the same fix.
What happens to your money
- Stopped at your bank, before it left: the money stays with you, or comes straight back to your account. Nothing has travelled, so no other bank has charged anything.
- Rejected or returned by a bank further along: the money is sent back through the banks that handled it, and it can come back less than you sent if banks deduct charges or convert the currency twice. See why SWIFT payments are returned and use the SWIFT payment tracker to check its status.
- Still moving: less common, but if the payment hasn't been rejected yet, your bank can tell you where it is using the payment's UETR (its tracking reference).
There's no fixed time for a return. Ask your bank for a case reference and an expected credit date in writing.
What to do, step by step
- Ask your bank exactly what it says is missing, and whether the payment was stopped before it left or was returned afterwards. If it left, ask for the UETR.
- Get the recipient's bank details from the recipient's bank itself, in writing: the bank's full legal name, its SWIFT/BIC code, its address, the branch if the account is at one, and any local bank code the country uses. Don't copy them from a random website list.
- Check the SWIFT code's format with our SWIFT code checker. It tests the length, the characters and the country code, and looks the code up in a published list of registered institutions. A code that isn't listed isn't necessarily wrong, and a code that is listed doesn't prove it's the right bank for this account.
- Ask whether the route needs an intermediary bank. Our correspondent bank checker shows whether one is likely, and gives you a message to ask your bank. If an intermediary bank is used, the recipient's bank must be given too.
- Check the recipient's account number or IBAN with our IBAN validator or, for a Nigerian account, the NUBAN validator.
- Send a fresh payment with all of the above, once you know what happened to the first one. Don't resend while the first is still in progress, or you could pay twice.
Get the full list of details for the country
Choose send or receive, "international" and the recipient's country. The tool lists every detail to give or ask for, including the SWIFT/BIC, IBAN and any local bank code.
Open What Bank Details Do I Need?What details to give, by country
What a sender usually needs to pay a bank account in each country. "Sometimes" means some banks or senders ask for it.
| Recipient's bank is in… | Usually needed from abroad |
|---|---|
| Nigeria | Name, account number (NUBAN), bank name, SWIFT code, sometimes the bank's address |
| United States | Name, account number, bank name, SWIFT code; ABA routing number sometimes |
| United Kingdom, Germany and other IBAN countries | Name, IBAN, bank name, and the SWIFT code (needed when the sender is outside the euro payments area) |
| India | Name, account number, bank name, SWIFT code; IFSC sometimes |
| Australia | Name, account number, bank name, SWIFT code; BSB sometimes |
| Canada | Name, account number, bank name, SWIFT code; transit and institution numbers sometimes |
For any other country, use What Bank Details Do I Need? The table above is a guide, and each bank can ask for more.
For Nigerian users
- Receiving from abroad: give the sender your name exactly as it appears on your account, your 10-digit account number, your bank's name and its SWIFT code, and the bank's address if they ask. A Nigerian SWIFT code has
NGas characters 5 and 6. - Receiving dollars or another foreign currency: ask your bank whether it gives foreign-currency payment instructions that name an intermediary bank. If it does, give the sender exactly those instructions. Don't try to work out the route yourself.
- Sending to someone abroad: get the recipient's bank details from their bank in writing, not from a message you can't verify.
- Money sent through a money transfer company is paid out in naira and usually needs only local details. It follows different rules. See how international money transfers work.
Common mistakes
- Giving only an IBAN or account number. The recipient's bank still has to be identified.
- Typing a branch or clearing number in the SWIFT field. They are different things. See bank code vs SWIFT code.
- Adding an intermediary bank on your own. Only add one if the recipient's bank or your own bank tells you to, and always with the recipient's bank as well.
- Using a SWIFT code from an email or chat message without checking it with the bank. Bank details sent by email are a common route for payment fraud.
- Resending before the first payment is accounted for.
Seeing a similar message about field 56 instead? See SWIFT error: field 56 missing.
Related questions
What does "field 57 missing" mean on a SWIFT payment?
Field 57 is the "Account With Institution": the bank that holds the recipient's account. A message that says it is missing means the payment doesn't clearly identify the recipient's bank, so it can't be routed. The money is not lost. Get the recipient's bank details complete and correct, and send the payment again.
Is a missing field 57 always an error?
No. Under Swift's standard, field 57 is optional, and when it is left out the bank receiving the message is treated as the recipient's own bank. It becomes a problem when the payment is going to a different bank than the recipient's, or when an intermediary bank (field 56) is named without the recipient's bank, which the standard payment message does not allow.
Is field 57 the same as the IBAN?
No. The IBAN identifies the recipient's account, while field 57 identifies the bank that holds it. Swift's definition says field 57 applies even when the account is given as an IBAN, so an IBAN does not replace the recipient's bank details.
What is the difference between field 56 and field 57?
Field 56 is the intermediary bank, a bank in the middle of the route that helps move the money. Field 57 is the recipient's own bank. If a payment names an intermediary bank, it must also name the recipient's bank.
What details do I need to fix a field 57 error?
The recipient's bank's full legal name, its SWIFT/BIC code (8 or 11 characters), its address, the branch if the account sits at one, and any local bank code the country needs. Get them from the recipient's bank in writing and check the SWIFT code's format before you resend.
Why does my bank now say "creditor agent" instead of field 57?
Since 22 November 2025, banks exchange cross-border payments on Swift in the ISO 20022 format instead of the older MT messages. In that format, field 57 (the recipient's bank) is called the creditor agent and field 56 (the intermediary bank) is the intermediary agent. The meaning is the same.
Will I get all my money back if the payment was rejected?
If it was stopped at your bank before it left, the money stays with you. If a bank further along rejected or returned it, it comes back through the banks that handled it, and it can be less than you sent because banks may deduct charges or convert the currency back at a different rate.
Keep going
Sources
- Swift, MT 103 message reference (2017 edition, as mirrored online), Field 57a: Account With Institution: definition, formats, and the rule that when it is absent the Receiver is also the account with institution.
- Swift, MT 103 STP network validated rules (2015 edition, as mirrored online), rule C5, error code C81: "If field 56A is present, field 57A must also be present."
- J.P. Morgan, ISO 20022 mapping guide: Account With Institution maps to the Creditor Agent, Intermediary Institution to the Intermediary Agent; MT 103 field 57 "(or Receiver)".
- Swift, ISO 20022 for financial institutions: end of coexistence for cross-border payments on 22 November 2025.
- Swift message references have been updated since these editions. Your bank's own error text is the final word on what it needs.
This guide explains a common SWIFT payment message in general terms. It is not financial advice. Banks and payment apps display different wording and have their own rules, so confirm with your bank exactly what it needs before you resend.
