EIR (End-to-End Investigation Reference)

The EIR (End-to-End Investigation Reference) is the case reference used for Exceptions & Investigations (E&I) within Swift Case Management. It assigns every message belonging to an investigation unambiguously to one case – from opening to closure.

Definition

An EIR is assigned to each case handled with the investigation messages camt.110 (InvestigationRequest) and camt.111 (InvestigationResponse). It allows all information and all subsequent message exchanges relating to that case to be consolidated. It is therefore the counterpart to the UETR at a different level: the UETR identifies the payment, the EIR identifies the case.

UETR and EIR compared

• UETR – identifies the payment. It is created with the payment instruction, travels with it through the entire chain and links it to its status reports such as pacs.002.
• EIR – identifies the case. It comes into existence only when an investigation is opened on a payment, and it bundles the request, interim updates, responses and follow-up queries.

One payment may give rise to several cases, and one case may span many messages. Only both references together give the complete picture: the UETR answers “which payment is this about?”, the EIR answers “which case on that payment is this about?”

Role within Case Management

The EIR is not merely a filing attribute. It is the precondition for the Case Orchestrator to do its job at all:

• Consolidation. All messages of a case come together under one reference instead of standing side by side as unrelated individual messages.
• Smart routing. Because the case is recognisable as a unit, messages can be routed directly to the institution concerned instead of travelling sequentially through the correspondent banks.
• Follow-up. Open cases stay visible throughout their life cycle; automated reminders and status reporting are anchored on the case reference.

Within the message itself, camt.110 and camt.111 each carry the investigation references of the requesting and the responding institution (RqstrInvstgtnId and RspndrInvstgtnId). The binding field usage and the rules for assignment are set out in the Message Definition Report for the Exceptions and Investigations Modernisation message set and in the CBPR+ usage guidelines.

Relevance for banks and payment service providers

One plain but consequential requirement follows for implementation: the case reference has to stay attached to the case in the back office permanently. If it is only read from the incoming message and not stored, follow-up requests and interim updates can no longer be matched to the right case automatically – and handling falls back to manual research, precisely the state the reform sets out to remove.

Its scope is worth noting as well: the EIR belongs to cross-border payments under Swift CBPR+. It does not appear in the SEPA area, where investigations continue to rely on camt.027, camt.087 and camt.029 with the reference mechanisms of the respective European Payments Council rulebooks.

Sources for specifications

• ISO 20022 – Message Definitions, “Exceptions and Investigations Modernisation” message set
• Swift – Case Management (product page)
• Swift – Case Management for Exceptions & Investigations (info sheet, PDF)
• PPI – Rethinking E&I: the new Swift Case Management
• DPS – E&I with ISO 20022: an interview on target vision and reality