MT940 to Excel (XLSX) Converter

MT940 to Excel Converter

An MT940 statement is written for a bank’s systems, so the first thing most people do with one is copy it into a spreadsheet and fight the layout. This MT940 to Excel Converter does that work. It reads each :61: transaction line and its :86: narrative, then writes an .xlsx workbook with one row per transaction, ready to sort, filter and total.

The workbook has a single sheet named MT940. Amounts are numbers, dates are ISO text, and the narrative subfields are split into Description, Memo and Type. The workbook is created in your browser from the text you upload, so the SWIFT file is not sent to a server.

Key features

• One sheet named MT940 with a header row and one row per :61: line.
• Numeric Amount column, so totals, pivot tables and charts work straight away.
• ISO dates that sort correctly in any locale.
• Column widths sized to the content, up to a readable maximum.
• Preview before download, and no upload to a server.

About the MT940 to XLSX format

The sheet follows the MT940 structure. The value date from :61: becomes the Date column, and a debit (D or RC) is written as a negative amount. The text after // in :61: goes to ID. When the :86: narrative contains ?32 or ?33 subfields, the counterparty name is used as the Description and the ?20 to ?29 purpose goes to Memo. The ?00 booking text goes to Type.

The converter does not read the opening (:60F:) or closing (:62F:) balance lines into the workbook. They are useful for a check, so compare the closing balance with the sum of the Amount column yourself.

How it works

The converter reads the same transaction lines and narratives as the MT940 to CSV converter. The rows are then written to a spreadsheet, and only the Amount column is stored as a number.

Amounts are normalised to two decimal places, so 2400 is written as 2400.00 and the comma decimal from SWIFT is converted to a full stop.

Common use cases

• A treasury analyst sends a week of MT940 statements to a reviewer who works only in Excel.
• An accounts payable team filters a SWIFT statement for outgoing transfers to a single supplier.
• A finance lead builds a monthly summary of bank charges from the Type and Description columns.

How to use this tool

1. Download the MT940 file from your bank as a .sta or text statement.
2. Open the MT940 to Excel converter and upload the file or paste its contents.
3. Check the preview against the bank’s transaction list, including the first and last dates.
4. Download the .xlsx workbook and open it in Excel or Google Sheets.

Example

:61:2605060506CN2400,00NTRFNONREF//BK-1002
:86:?00TRANSFER?20CLIENT PAYMENT?32CLIENT CO

Date       | Description | Amount  | Memo           | Category | ID      | Type
2026-05-06 | CLIENT CO   | 2400.00 | CLIENT PAYMENT |          | BK-1002 | TRANSFER

Tips for best results

• Add a SUMIFS on the Amount column that matches the closing balance check: opening balance plus the sum of Amount should equal the closing balance.
• Filter the Type column to find bank charges, which banks usually label in their booking text.
• Name the file after the account and the statement date. The workbook does not record which account it came from.

Common pitfalls

Expecting balances in the workbook. Only transactions are written, so the sheet has no running balance column.

Expecting one workbook per account. If the statement file covers several accounts, all their lines are listed in one sheet.

Trusting an empty Memo column. Banks that do not use ?20 to ?29 subfields leave Memo blank, and the full narrative is in Description.

Confusing reversals with payments. RC lines are negative and RD lines are positive, which is the effect on the account rather than the label on the line.

Frequently asked questions

For more background on data formats and conversion workflows, read our format guides.