MT940 to Excel: How to Convert SWIFT Bank Statements

Quick Answer

MT940 is the SWIFT message format used by European and international banks for electronic account statements. To convert an MT940 file to Excel, you need a parser that understands the SWIFT field structure: a dedicated MT940 converter, an open-source parsing library, your ERP's import, or a careful manual import in Excel. QuickBankConvert does not read MT940 files — it converts PDF and OFX statements — so it only helps if your bank also offers the same statement as a PDF.

What Is MT940 and Who Uses It?

MT940 is a standardized bank statement format defined by SWIFT, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. In the name, "MT" stands for "Message Type," and 940 is the specific message type code assigned to Customer Statement Messages. Knowing what the format is helps before you convert SWIFT bank statements into Excel.

MT940 is primarily used by:

• European banks: Deutsche Bank, ING, Rabobank, BNP Paribas, and most other major European institutions deliver corporate statements in MT940 format.
• Australian banks: Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, NAB, and Westpac use MT940 for business banking clients.
• Corporate ERP systems: SAP, Oracle Financials, and Microsoft Dynamics can natively import MT940 for bank reconciliation.
• Treasury management systems: Large corporations managing multi-currency, multi-bank cash positions rely on MT940 for automated reconciliation.

If you are a US-based business receiving transactions from international banking partners, or if you work with a European subsidiary, you have likely encountered MT940 files. Individual consumers rarely see MT940 directly — it is primarily a business-to-business format.

Callout: MT940 is not a PDF

MT940 files are plain text files — not PDFs. They use a fixed-field SWIFT format that looks cryptic but follows a strict structure. If you open an MT940 file in Notepad, you will see tags like :20:, :25:, :28C:, :60F:, :61:, and :86: — each representing a specific piece of statement data.

How Is an MT940 File Structured?

An MT940 file is composed of a series of tagged fields. Here is a simplified example of what an MT940 transaction block looks like:

:20:STMT20240315
:25:DE89370400440532013000
:28C:00001/001
:60F:C240301EUR1500,00
:61:2403150315DR250,00NTRFNONREF//INVOICE-2024-001
:86:Payment to Supplier ABC
:62F:C240315EUR1250,00

Key fields explained:

The :61: field is the most complex — it contains a compact string encoding the value date, entry date, debit/credit indicator (C/D/RD/RC), amount, transaction type code, customer reference, and bank reference all in a single line.

How to Convert MT940 to Excel

Converting MT940 to Excel requires parsing the SWIFT field structure and mapping each field to a spreadsheet column. There are four realistic routes; pick the one that matches your volume and tools.

Option 1: Ask Your Bank for a Different Export

Before parsing anything, check the download options in your business banking portal. Portals that offer MT940 very often offer the same statement as CSV, Excel, CAMT.053 (XML), or PDF. If a CSV or Excel export exists for the period you need, that is the shortest path and involves no conversion at all.

Option 2: Use Your ERP or Accounting System

If your company runs SAP, Oracle Financials, Microsoft Dynamics, or a treasury system, import the MT940 file there and export the resulting bank statement lines to Excel. The system already knows how to read the :61: and :86: fields, and this is the workflow the format was designed for.

Option 3: Use a Dedicated MT940 Parser

For regular conversions without an ERP, use a tool built for the format. There are commercial MT940-to-Excel converters, and open-source parsing libraries exist for most programming languages (for example, the mt-940 package for Python), which a developer can wrap in a short script that writes one row per :61: line. Whatever you choose, test it on one statement and check the totals against the :60F: opening and :62F: closing balances before trusting it.

Option 4: Parse It Manually in Excel

For an occasional small file, Excel alone is enough:

1. Open the file in a text editor to confirm it is MT940 (files typically have a .sta, .mt940, .txt, or no extension at all).
2. In Excel, use Data > From Text/CSV to load the file as a single column, one line per row.
3. Add a column that extracts the tag (:61:, :86:, and so on) from the start of each line.
4. Split the :61: lines into value date, entry date, D/C indicator, and amount using the positions in the mapping table below, and pull the matching :86: line into a Description column.
5. Replace the comma decimal separator with a period and convert the amounts to numbers.

This works, but it is slow and fragile for files with long multi-line :86: narratives, so it is only practical for small statements.

Callout: Handling multi-currency MT940 files

If your MT940 covers a multi-currency account, the currency code is embedded in the :60F: and :62F: balance fields rather than in each transaction line. Carry the currency code into its own column when you convert, to prevent silent currency mix-ups that can corrupt financial reports.

How Do MT940 Fields Map to Excel Columns?

Whichever method you use, the SWIFT fields map to standard spreadsheet columns like this:

Note that MT940 amounts use a comma as the decimal separator (European convention) — for example, 1250,00 means 1,250.00. Convert this to a period decimal separator (or set the column's locale) so Excel treats the values as numbers.

How Does MT940 Compare to OFX and CSV Formats?

MT940 is most appropriate when feeding data into enterprise ERP systems. For small business accounting software, OFX or CSV is usually more practical. See our OFX conversion guide for more on that format.

Where QuickBankConvert Fits

QuickBankConvert accepts two input formats: PDF bank statements and OFX files. It does not accept MT940, so you cannot upload a .sta or .mt940 file to it.

It is still useful in one common situation: the bank that sends you MT940 also publishes a PDF statement for the same account and period. In that case you can skip the SWIFT parsing entirely:

1. Download the PDF statement from your banking portal.
2. Upload it to QuickBankConvert. The file is sent over an encrypted connection and parsed on QuickBankConvert's servers; you are never asked for bank credentials.
3. Check the on-screen preview of the transactions against the PDF.
4. Sign in with a free Google account to download CSV or Excel (5 statements a month, up to 10 pages each). Longer statements and other formats such as QBO need a paid plan.

The PDF route gives you dates, descriptions, amounts, and balances. It will not give you MT940-only details such as the SWIFT transaction type code or the separate customer and bank references, so use one of the parser options above when you need those.

Common Use Cases for MT940 Conversion

Corporate Treasury Reconciliation

Large corporations receiving MT940 files from their European banking partners often need to review them in Excel before processing in SAP or Oracle. Converting a copy to a spreadsheet provides a quick visual check without requiring ERP system access.

Auditor and Accountant Review

Auditors reviewing European bank accounts may receive MT940 files but work primarily in Excel. Converting to Excel lets them apply audit procedures — searching for round-number transactions, identifying unusual payees, and checking for authorization gaps — using familiar spreadsheet tools.

SME International Banking

Small and medium businesses with European banking relationships often receive MT940 statements but lack enterprise ERP systems. Converting to Excel or CSV allows them to import transactions into QuickBooks, Xero, or Sage using standard CSV import workflows.

Bank Reconciliation for Multi-Country Operations

Companies operating in multiple countries may receive statements in different formats — MT940 from European banks, CSV from US banks, PDF from Australian banks. Converting all formats to a common Excel structure enables consolidated reconciliation in a single spreadsheet.

Historical Data Migration

When migrating from one accounting system to another, historical MT940 statements can be converted to CSV and bulk-imported into the new system, avoiding manual re-entry of years of transaction data.

MT940 to Excel conversion is a niche but essential capability for businesses dealing with European or international banking. The reliable routes are your bank's alternative exports, your ERP's import, or a dedicated MT940 parser. If the same statement is available as a PDF, QuickBankConvert can turn that PDF into Excel or CSV instead, which is often enough for review and reconciliation work.

Sources and Further Reading

• MT940 (Wikipedia) — the SWIFT customer statement message and its fields.
• Microsoft Excel help — official documentation for importing, formatting and formulas.
• Financial Data Exchange — the standards body that now maintains the OFX specification.