MT 710 Explained: Advice of a Third Bank's Documentary Credit

MT 710 covers a specific situation: an advising bank has received a documentary credit issued by a bank that isn't its normal SWIFT counterparty — perhaps forwarded by mail, or via another advising bank — and needs to advise those same terms onward to the beneficiary through SWIFT. It essentially repackages someone else's credit into the structured MT 700-style fields the beneficiary's bank expects.

Key fields

• 27 — Sequence of Total: Same role as in MT 700.
• 21 — Documentary Credit Number: The number assigned by the original issuing bank.
• 52a — Issuing Bank: The bank that actually issued the credit — not the bank sending this MT 710.
• 59 — Beneficiary: Who the credit is for.
• 32B — Currency/Amount: The credit's value.
• 39A / 39B / 39C — Tolerances and Additional Amounts: Same meaning as in MT 700.
• 41a / 45A / 46A / 47A — Availability, Goods, Documents, Conditions: Carry the same content and meaning as the equivalent fields in an MT 700.

Because the bank sending an MT 710 isn't the issuer, it's acting purely as a conduit — its own undertaking, if any, is separate from and doesn't replace the issuing bank's original payment obligation.