MT940 vs CAMT.053: What's the Difference?

Two formats, one purpose

MT940 and CAMT.053 are the two most widely used formats for digital bank statements in the Netherlands and Europe. Both formats serve the same purpose: transferring structured transaction data from your bank to your accounting software. But the technical implementation differs significantly. In this article we explain the key differences and help you determine which format best suits your situation.

What is MT940?

MT940 is a message type within the SWIFT standard (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). The format has existed since the 1980s and has been the standard for electronically delivering bank statements for decades. MT940 is a plain-text format with numbered fields (tags) that each contain specific data, such as account number, balance and individual transactions.

The "MT" stands for Message Type and "940" is the specific message number for "Customer Statement Message" — the bank statement for the customer. Dutch banks like ING, ABN AMRO and Rabobank have offered MT940 as their standard export format for years.

What is CAMT.053?

CAMT.053 is part of the ISO 20022 standard, an international framework for financial messages. The name stands for "Cash Management" and message number 053 refers to "Bank to Customer Statement" — the equivalent of MT940 but in XML format. CAMT.053 was designed as the successor to MT940 and offers more structure, flexibility and detail.

The format uses XML (Extensible Markup Language), which means the data is hierarchically structured. This makes it possible to include more information per transaction than in MT940's plain-text format.

Technical comparison

Feature	MT940	CAMT.053
Standard	SWIFT (FIN)	ISO 20022
Format	Plain text with tags	XML
File extension	.sta, .940, .mt940, .swi	.xml, .camt053
Character encoding	ASCII / Latin-1	UTF-8
Transaction details	Limited (tag :86:, max. 6x65 chars)	Extensive (unlimited, structured)
Structured references	Not standard (bank-dependent)	Yes (EndToEndId, InstructionId, etc.)
Counterparty information	Often in free text	Structured (name, IBAN, BIC)
Currency support	Basic (currency code in balance)	Extensive (per transaction, exchange rate)
Batch information	Not possible	Yes (individual transactions within a batch)
File size	Compact	Larger (XML overhead)
Human readability	Reasonable	Less (XML structure)

Pros and cons of MT940

Advantages

• Broad support: Virtually all accounting software can import MT940, including older packages.
• Compact: Files are relatively small because plain text is used.
• Proven standard: Decades of experience, well documented and widely implemented.
• Readable: With some knowledge of the tags you can manually inspect the file.

Disadvantages

• Limited details: Maximum 390 characters per transaction description (6 lines of 65 characters).
• Unstructured: Counterparty information and references are often in free text, making parsing difficult.
• Bank-dependent: Each bank implements MT940 slightly differently, causing compatibility issues.
• No batch details: Group bookings are shown as a single line without underlying transactions.

Pros and cons of CAMT.053

Advantages

• Rich information: More detail per transaction, including structured references and extended counterparty information.
• Standardised: XML schema ensures consistent implementation across banks.
• Future-proof: ISO 20022 is the global standard for financial messaging.
• Batch details: Group bookings can be broken down into individual transactions.

Disadvantages

• Limited support: Older accounting software cannot always import CAMT.053.
• Larger files: XML overhead makes files larger than MT940.
• Version differences: Multiple versions of the CAMT.053 schema exist that are not always compatible.
• Less readable: XML is harder to read without tools compared to MT940.

Which banks use which format?

Most Dutch banks now offer both formats, but the default differs per bank:

Bank	MT940	CAMT.053	Default
ING	Yes	Yes	MT940 (CAMT.053 optional)
ABN AMRO	Yes	Yes	Both available
Rabobank	Yes	Yes	CAMT.053 (MT940 still available)
SNS Bank / de Volksbank	Yes	Yes	CAMT.053
Triodos Bank	Yes	Yes	MT940
Knab	No	Yes	CAMT.053
bunq	Yes	Yes	CSV (MT940/CAMT.053 optional)

Which format should I choose?

The choice depends on your accounting software. Check which format your package supports best:

• Exact Online, Twinfield, AFAS: Both formats are supported. MT940 is often most reliable for import.
• SnelStart, e-Boekhouden: MT940 is supported by default. CAMT.053 support may be limited.
• Visma eAccounting: CAMT.053 is preferred.
• Older software: Use MT940 — this is supported virtually everywhere.

Do you have a file in the wrong format? StatementBridge converts MT940 to CAMT.053 and vice versa, so you always have the right format for your accounting software.