Updated ISO 20022 data requirements enhance global cross-border payments

The G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments identified fragmented messaging standards as a major friction, contributing to high costs, slow speeds, and a lack of transparency.

Historically, interoperability relied on the Swift Message Type (MT) standard, but translations often led to data truncation and processing delays.

ISO 20022, a global and open standard, offers richer, more structured data, significantly improving efficiency for compliance screening and fraud prevention.

Its growing worldwide adoption presents a crucial opportunity to promote greater interoperability and consistent performance for end-users.

The CPMI's harmonisation requirements aim to guide payment system operators and participants in implementing ISO 20022 consistently, thereby supporting the Roadmap's goals of faster, cheaper, more accessible, and more transparent cross-border payments.

This updated report builds on the original 2023 publication, incorporating recent standardisation and regulatory developments.

Despite the benefits of ISO 20022, variability in its deployment across jurisdictions risks undermining its potential.

Inconsistent data usage and misaligned message flows can perpetuate inefficiencies in the end-to-end payment chain.

To counter this, the CPMI, in collaboration with the Payments Market Practice Group (PMPG), developed these harmonisation requirements and data models.

While not regulatory mandates, their widespread and consistent implementation is crucial for realising network effects and encouraging further uptake.

Market participants are encouraged to align their ISO 20022 usage guidelines with these requirements by the end of 2027. The updated report provides clarifications sought by market participants and an expanded data model, allowing for more regular updates in line with the ISO 20022 release schedule.