Announcements
Overview
Currently, cross-border payments operate on fragmented standards, subject to local practices and their variants. These often different and inconsistent messaging standards make it difficult for Financial Market Infrastructures (FMIs), Financial Institutions (FIs), machines, and ecosystems to communicate with one another in a common language. This can lead to inefficiencies in payments processing and poses a potential barrier to data automation capabilities, especially on an international scale. Globalization has highlighted the need for interoperability. The industry migration to ISO 20022 seeks to address these challenges by creating a standard to which all market participants will adhere.
ISO 20022 is a global and open financial messaging standard for financial institutions set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), an independent, non-governmental standard-setting body. ISO 20022 is a language based on a business dictionary that unifies many existing, fragmented standards. ISO 20022 incorporates a large amount of highly structured data that will provide huge benefits for all market participants. The enriched data sets will promote end-to-end automation through the transaction life cycle and increase machine-readability - enabling faster processing, greater openness, visibility, and interoperability across different regions and FMIs.
Clearing systems and FMIs around the globe are moving to the ISO 20022 standard and reporting messages across the SWIFT network will move from MT format to MX format. During this coexistence period, both formats will be accepted and supported on the SWIFT network, until 2025 when ISO 20022 will become the sole globally recognized standard.
SWIFT plans to begin their migration in March 2023, to allow their migration efforts and development to coincide with other strategic initiatives.* The end date to enable full ISO 20022 for cross-border payments is still November 2025 and their full commitment to move the SWIFT community to ISO 20022 remains strong.
Preparing for the Migration
Clients will need to ensure that they understand the details and implications of ISO 20022, are developing their own migration plans and are considering their internal systems’ readiness to support the move to this new standard. For more information, please visit the Swift website or view Citi’s material below.
Webinars
Insights
ISO 20022: The New Language of Global Payments
In collaboration with Zanders, Citi has produced a white paper the explores potential benefits of these up-and-coming changes for corporates through a number of key use cases, and the driving factors behind this current wave of ISO 20022 adoption across the global payments industry and the Swift network.
Citi’s Commitment to You
Citi remains committed to pushing forward and executing on our ISO 20022 strategy around the world. Citi will also continue to support and guide our clients through this period of transformation. We will support ISO 20022 payments and partner testing, consult clients on country specific nuances and requirements, and keep you apprised on the CBPR+/ISO standards as well as all Market Infrastructure migration timelines, as they evolve. We remain committed to continued sharing of thought leadership and guidance on how clients can prepare their systems and people for this migration, while remaining compliant.
Please reach out to your Citi Representative to discuss the impact of the ISO 20022 migration on your Citi services.
