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The short answer
A UETR (Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference) is a 36-character code that travels with every SWIFT payment, so any bank in the chain can locate it. Ask your bank for the UETR and the payment confirmation, send both to the recipient, and have them give it to their Nigerian bank's customer service or international operations team, which can see where the funds are and whether they have reached its correspondent account.
A wire that has "left" your bank but not reached your relative's account is not lost; it is somewhere in a chain of banks. The UETR is the thread that lets each bank find its place in that chain.
What a UETR is
Swift describes the UETR as a 36-character reference carried in field 121 of the message, required on customer payments such as the MT103 and on bank-to-bank cover payments. Intermediaries must pass it on unchanged, and any party in the chain can use it to locate the payment. Swift also gives a Basic Tracker free to all Swift institutions, so even small banks can look up a payment.
- Length
- 36 characters
- Who creates it
- The sending bank, when the payment is first created
- Who can see it
- Every bank the payment passes through
- Where you find it
- On the payment confirmation or advice, or by asking your bank
Swift's 2020 data, drawn from UETR tracking, showed 92% of gpi payments credited within 24 hours. When a payment to Nigeria takes much longer, the UETR shows where it stopped.
Step by step
- Wait for the stated time. Banks give their own timescales; Lloyds says up to 5 working days for most countries outside Europe. Tracing earlier rarely helps.
- Ask your bank for the UETR and the payment confirmation. Since Swift moved cross-border payments to the ISO 20022 format in November 2025, confirmations may be a pacs.008 extract or a plain summary rather than an MT103 printout; either should show the UETR and the charge option.
- Ask your bank to run a trace. Lloyds, for example, says it checks its payment tracking system and talks you through the options, and that it does not charge to trace, though other banks may.
- Send the UETR and confirmation to the recipient. They take it to their Nigerian bank, which can check whether the funds reached its correspondent account and why they have not been applied.
- Fix what is found. Common findings: the money is waiting at the correspondent for a missing detail, the beneficiary name does not match, or the purpose of payment is missing.
What the Nigerian bank looks for
A Nigerian bank credits a foreign currency inflow when the money arrives in its account abroad and it can match the payment to a customer. GTBank, for example, says customers get value when funds reflect in its offshore accounts, and lists the beneficiary's account number and name as captured on its system, and the purpose of the remittance, as required information. If one is wrong or missing, the money can sit unapplied until the recipient supplies it, or be returned.
What to tell your bank when you ask for a trace
Give everything in one message so the request does not bounce back: the date and amount of the payment, the currency, the beneficiary's name and account number, the Nigerian bank and its SWIFT code, any correspondent details you used, and the UETR if you already have it. Say plainly what has happened, for example "the beneficiary's bank says the funds have not been received". Ask your bank to confirm the date the payment left, the bank it was sent to, and whether any bank in the chain has queried or returned it.
Keep a record
Note each contact: who you spoke to, the date, and any reference number they gave you. Ask the recipient to do the same with their bank. If the trace drags on, these notes are what you will need for a formal complaint to your bank, and they stop the two banks each telling you the money is with the other. Keep the confirmation until the money is credited and the amount agrees with what you expected.
App transfers do not have UETRs
If you sent through a money transfer app, the final leg in Nigeria is a domestic naira transfer, not a SWIFT payment. Ask the app for its transaction reference and the payout reference, and have the recipient give those to their bank. See transfers pending for days.
If the trace shows the money was returned
A returned wire comes back through the chain, often less fees and converted back at a new rate. See why a transfer was returned. If deductions are the issue rather than a delay, see intermediary bank fees.
For the receiving side, the Nigeria library explains why a foreign transfer is delayed or returned.
Where Pryme fits
For naira transfers from Pryme Send, the app shows the rate and the fee before you approve, and each completed transfer comes with a receipt, which can be made verifiable through VerifyDoc.ai, for you to share with the recipient's bank.
Questions people ask
What is a UETR number?
A 36-character Unique End-to-end Transaction Reference that travels with a SWIFT payment so every bank in the chain can find it.
Where do I find the UETR for my wire to Nigeria?
On your bank's payment confirmation or advice. If it is not shown, ask your bank for it.
Can the recipient in Nigeria trace a SWIFT payment?
Yes, through their bank, if you give them the UETR and the payment confirmation.
Is there a fee to trace an international transfer?
It depends on the bank. Lloyds says it does not charge to trace, but other banks in the chain may.
Sources
- Swift: What is a UETR? · accessed Oct 2026
- Swift: Swift gpi driving payments revolution (7 Oct 2020) · accessed Oct 2026
- Lloyds Bank: How to make an international payment · accessed Oct 2026
- eco.com support: What is an MT103? Wire confirmations and the move to pacs.008 · accessed Oct 2026
- GTBank: Foreign currency inward transfer (FX inflow) · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.