What is the difference between UETR and other transaction references in SWIFT Alliance?

 UETR (Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference) is a unique identifier assigned to a payment message in SWIFT Alliance. Here are the differences between UETR and other transaction references in SWIFT Alliance:

UETR:

• A string of 36 unique characters featured in all payment instruction messages
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• Designed to be a unique and unalterable reference that allows payments to be located at any time, by any of the parties in the chain
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• Introduced in 2018 for all payments to provide transaction-level tracking and traceability
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• Used to track payments in real-time for credit transfers
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• A key component of the SWIFT global payments innovation (gpi) service, which aims to improve the speed, transparency, and traceability of cross-border payments
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Other transaction references:

• Other transaction references in SWIFT Alliance include MT Reference, Customer Reference, and Bank Reference
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• These references are not unique and can be altered or reused
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• MT Reference is a reference number assigned by the sender of the message
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• Customer Reference is a reference number assigned by the customer to the payment
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• Bank Reference is a reference number assigned by the bank to the payment
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In summary, UETR is a unique and unalterable reference that allows payments to be tracked in real-time and is a key component of the SWIFT global payments innovation (gpi) service. Other transaction references in SWIFT Alliance are not unique and can be altered or reused.