Are you prepared for 22 of November? Jumping on the ISO 20022 train.
As the global payments industry moves beyond the initial adoption of ISO 20022, a new phase is taking shape, one defined by continuous evolution, richer data capabilities, and the final stretch toward full global alignment. Over the past few years, financial institutions have made significant progress in transitioning to the new messaging standard, yet the journey is far from over. With the upcoming Standards Release 2025 (SR2025) and the end of the coexistence period between legacy MT and MX messages, ISO 20022 is entering a new era that demands renewed focus, investment, and strategic readiness. According to SWIFT, this marks the final stage before ISO 20022 becomes the primary language for global payments.
When ISO 20022 was first introduced, it represented far more than a change in message format, it was the beginning of smarter banking. As explored in BPC’s earlier blog “ISO 20022 is the Beginning of Smarter Banking,” the standard introduced a common financial language across payments, securities, and trade services, enabling structured, richer data that enhances interoperability across markets.
We’ve already discussed the operational realities of migration, from legacy system constraints and vendor readiness to the importance of governance and comprehensive testing and underlined the urgency of adoption, noting that delay not only increases compliance risk but limits banks’ ability to compete in a digital-first economy. Collectively, these insights established that ISO 20022 is not a one-off project but an ongoing transformation, a pathway toward smarter, more connected financial ecosystems.
Choosing the right vendor partner
One of the clearest lessons from the migration journey is that not all vendors are equally prepared for ISO 20022. Vendor readiness remains one of the biggest risks to a successful migration. While some providers offer only basic compliance, for example, simple message mapping from MT to MX, others deliver full end-to-end migration capability that spans coexistence management, structured data support, and post-go-live analytics.
Financial institutions evaluating their partners should seek vendors that natively support both MT and MX environments, ensuring true interoperability rather than translation. They should confirm that the platform can process structured and enriched data, including remittance information, address details, and party identification, across the entire payment lifecycle. Experience also matters: proven delivery of real-world migration projects with live operational support demonstrates readiness beyond theory. Finally, because ISO 20022 continues to evolve with each annual standards release, from SR2025 to SR2026 and beyond, the right technology chosen as an integration layer should be flexible enough to accumulate quickly all new changes and not become another legacy burden for the decade.
The next major milestone
SWIFT has confirmed that the next major update, SR2025, will introduce new CBPR+ message types such as camt.025 (Receipt) and admi.024 (Correspondence). These additions will further enhance how financial institutions exchange settlement and reporting information, providing richer transparency throughout the payments chain. SR2025, which goes live on 22 November 2025, marks the continuation of SWIFT’s annual release cycle, reinforcing that ISO 20022 is a living standard designed to evolve alongside the industry.
Operational alignment and data integrity
Migration to ISO 20022 is not just a technical exercise; it demands strong operational alignment. According to Federal Reserve Financial Services, institutions preparing for migration must verify that enriched data can flow end-to-end without truncation, and that internal reconciliation and reporting systems can capture the new message fields completely. Data quality has become a top priority, with regulators and networks emphasising “production-like testing” to ensure readiness. This operational discipline will determine whether the richer data ISO 20022 provides translates into genuine business value.
Global adoption gathers pace
The global rollout of ISO 20022 has accelerated considerably. While some of the countries already completed the path, such as South African Reserve Bank, migrating in 2022, or Saudi Arabian SARIE platform that was initially built with ISO 20022 compatibility in 2021, or Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited announcing the ISO 20022 launch in 2024 and Australia’s NPP and Singapore’s FAST networks, for instance, already follow ISO-based schemas. Others are still on the path or just completing the journey. In the United States, the Federal Reserve confirmed that its Fedwire Funds Service successfully migrated to ISO 20022 on 14 July 2025, completing one of the world’s largest single-day transitions. The move brought the U.S. wire-transfer network into full alignment with global messaging standards.
From cut of date of 22 November, cross-border payments and cash-reporting flows will be transmitted exclusively in ISO 20022. SWIFT’s own data shows that the network now processes more than 1.6 million ISO 20022 payment instructions each day, almost double the number recorded in 2024, clear evidence that adoption is not just advancing, but accelerating.
The value of structured data
A key strength of ISO 20022 lies in its structured data model. Instead of unstructured narrative fields, messages now contain clearly defined attributes such as account numbers, addresses, and identifiers, which can be parsed and validated automatically. SWIFT’s CBPR+ usage guidelines for 2025 introduce additional structure, including a new “hybrid postal address” format, improving consistency in how institutions capture and store payment data.
Terminology within message fields has also evolved to match the new data model. For example, what legacy systems called an “Originator” is now referred to as a Debtor, a “Beneficiary” is now a Creditor, and “Routing Number” has been replaced by Agent ID. A few major banks have published updated wire-transfer templates to reflect these naming conventions. These changes may appear technical, but they have real operational consequences, requiring updates across templates, reconciliation systems, and reporting tools.
While compliance is non-negotiable, ISO 20022’s real value lies in what banks do with the data it delivers. The structured nature of ISO 20022 messages enables deeper transaction analytics, faster corporate reconciliation through enriched remittance information, and enhanced AML and fraud-detection capabilities. As highlighted in numerous industry studies, the richer data allows institutions to offer more transparency to customers and regulators alike, turning what began as a compliance requirement into a driver of innovation and insight.
The road ahead
The coexistence period between MT and ISO 20022 messages ends 22 November 2025. This is not just a milestone in the modernisation of global payments. Institutions that approach ISO 20022 purely as a compliance requirement will achieve minimal benefit; those that view it as a data foundation for operational and customer transformation will gain a long-term competitive edge. So everyone should ask themselves a question if they are prepared for that date.
BPC has prepared a guide “ISO 20022 Migration 101: Steps and Strategies for Banks” a concise guide to get you over the line and set you up for optimization. You’ll find inside information on regional mandates and timelines you must meet, changes with the migration to ISO 20022, we discuss typical migration pitfalls and practical mitigations. The guide shows how to choose the right tech partner or execute DIY with control and what are the benefits beyond compliance. Download here>
