The Transformational Power of

ISO 20022 in
Modernizing
Banking
and Payments

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 1

Introduction
In the rapidly evolving a beacon of modernization in the world of
landscape of global financial transactions. ISO 20022 emerges
as a response to these challenges, offering
finance, the intricate a comprehensive framework that empowers
web of interconnected institutions, businesses, and individuals to
systems and processes communicate and transact with unprecedented
clarity, accuracy, and ease. ISO 20022 embodies
that underpin banking and a harmonized approach to structuring financial
payments has resulted messaging. Unlike its predecessors, this
in a rise of incessant standard provides a universal vocabulary for
describing various aspects of transactions,
advancements in this embracing not only payments but also
sector that transcends securities, foreign exchange, trade finance, and
boundaries and more.
technologies. Payments The benefits of ISO 20022 are multifold and
today can no longer be transformative. Financial institutions can
streamline their operations, optimize liquidity
limited to a region or a management, and reduce reconciliation
landscape. The wave of efforts through the standard’s enhanced data
digitalization has resulted richness and structured format. Businesses can
unlock new efficiencies in their supply chains,
in unifying various treasury functions, and reporting processes.
countries to engage and Moreover, the end-user experience receives a
look beyond the traditional significant boost as transactions become more
messaging standards transparent, traceable, and reliable.

to not only achieve their However, the journey to ISO 20022 adoption is
payment objective but not without its challenges. Institutions must
navigate the complexities of migrating legacy
also improve customer systems, ensuring data integrity during the
experience. transition, and effectively training personnel
to leverage the new standard’s capabilities.
Additionally, stakeholders must align their
internal strategies with industry timelines

T
he conventional methods of conducting and best practices to ensure a smooth and
banking and payments have encountered successful integration.
limitations in an era defined by digital
In this exploration of modernizing banking and
acceleration, cross-border transactions, and
payments through ISO 20022, we delve into
diverse financial instruments. These limitations
the intricacies of the standard’s architecture,
have led to fragmented data structures,
its impact on various stakeholders, and the
communication barriers, and suboptimal
steps required for successful implementation.
processing speeds. This has necessitated a
Join us as we embark on a journey through
need for a universal language that facilitates
the transformative landscape of ISO 20022—a
frictionless interactions across global
landscape where traditional barriers dissolve,
ecosystem while overcoming the limitations of
possibilities flourish, and the future of banking
the traditional systems.
and payments unfolds with unprecedented
This demand for seamless interoperability, potential.
increased efficiency, and enhanced data
richness has given rise to ISO 20022, a
groundbreaking standard that stands as

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 2

Global initiatives to implement
ISO 20022
Owing to the benefits for ISO 20022,
SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication)
had announced a global migration to ISO 20022 for
cross-border payments, securities, and trade finance
messages. The SWIFT ISO 20022 migration timeline was
initially planned as follows:

1. C
 ross-Border Payments 3. Trade Finance
(SWIFT MT to ISO 20022): (ISO 20022 Trade Services Utility - TSU):
• Migration Wave 1 (November 2022): • Trade Services Utility (2021-2025): Phased
Migration of correspondent banking and migration to ISO 20022 for trade finance
cross-border payments messaging. messages.

• Migration Wave 2 (September 2023):

Migration of high-value payments and
cover payments messaging.

• Migration Wave 3 (November 2025):

Migration of bulk payments, regulatory
reporting, and other remaining payments
messages.

2. Securities
(ISO 15022 to ISO 20022):
• Securities Settlement (November 2022):
Migration of securities settlement and
custody messages.

• Securities Corporate Actions (November

2023): Migration of corporate actions
messaging.

• Funds (November 2025): Migration of

investment funds order and reporting
messages.

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 3

To understand the various parties involved along with their
migration timelines are displayed as below:

NOW 2021 2022 2023 2025

MT remains the standard for cross-border

payments, users train for CBPR+ and
Phases prepare back office systems for native MT format
ISO 20022 support decommissioned
Transaction Management
Platform introduced, for correspondent
coexistence for ISO 20022 & MT banking

Debtor Continue to send MT, Or adopt ISO

agents/ 20022 based APIs or messaging
to send
Ordering
payments and reporting
Customers

All users send,

receive and process
Continue to receive and send MT, intermediary payments
and rely on Platform to retrieve and reporting using ISO
Intermediary All Users continue to send and receive rich data and screen payments 20022 based
agents MT messages or adopt ISO 20022 based APIs
APIs or messaging
or messaging for intermediary
payments

Creditor Continue to send MT, Or adopt ISO

20022 based APIs or messaging to
agents/
Beneficiaries receive payments and reporting

NOV 2022
Transaction Management Platform goes live

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 4

How Banks are implementing ISO 20022
Banks are implementing ISO 20022 migration in several stages, as part
of a global effort to standardize and improve the efficiency of financial
messaging. ISO 20022 is an international standard for financial messaging
that provides a common platform for the development of financial message
standards. Here are the typical steps and considerations involved in banks’
implementation of ISO 20022 migration:

• Assessment and Planning

Banks start by conducting a comprehensive assessment of their existing messaging systems and
infrastructure to determine the extent of the migration effort required.

They assess the impact on various business processes and systems, including core banking,
payments, securities, and reporting.

• Training
Banks provide training to their staff and clients to ensure that they understand the ISO 20022
standard and its implications.

Training may include workshops, seminars, and online resources to familiarize employees with the
new message format and associated processes.

• Data Mapping and Transformation

Banks identify the data elements in their current message formats and map them to the equivalent
ISO 20022 data elements.

Data transformation tools and scripts may be developed to convert existing messages to ISO 20022
format.

• System Upgrades or Replacement

Banks may need to upgrade or replace their existing systems, including payment systems,
messaging middleware, and data repositories, to support ISO 20022.

This may involve working with vendors to ensure that their solutions are ISO 20022 compliant.

• Testing and Validation

Extensive testing is crucial to ensure that the ISO 20022 implementation works correctly and
aligns with industry standards.

Banks conduct multiple rounds of testing, including unit testing, integration testing, and end-to-end
testing with counterparties and clearing systems.

• Regulatory Compliance
Banks ensure that their ISO 20022 implementation complies with regulatory requirements in their
respective jurisdictions.

They collaborate with regulators and industry bodies to align their migration plans with regulatory
timelines.

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 5

• Client and Counterparty Engagement
Banks communicate with their clients and counterparties to inform them about the ISO 20022
migration and coordinate the transition.

They may provide documentation and guidance to assist clients in making the necessary changes
to their systems and processes.

• Parallel Operations
During the transition, banks often run parallel operations, processing both legacy and ISO 20022
messages to minimize disruption.

This allows banks and their clients to gradually migrate to the new standard.

• Monitoring and Support

Banks establish monitoring and support mechanisms to address any issues that may arise during the
migration.

They also provide ongoing support to clients and internal stakeholders as they adapt to the new
messaging format.

• Post-Migration Assessment

After the migration is complete, banks conduct a post-implementation review to evaluate the
success of the migration, identify any remaining issues, and make necessary improvements.

ISO 20022 migration is a complex and resource-intensive process, and its scope and timeline can
vary depending on the size and complexity of the bank’s operations. Collaboration with industry
peers, standardization bodies, and technology vendors is essential to ensure a smooth transition
to ISO 20022 messaging standards.

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 6

Role & Impact
Regional banks and their worldwide The impact of ISO 20022 on small and medium-
counterparts will be required to make several sized businesses (SMEs) will be minimal,
adjustments to their payment chain, however although an assessment is nonetheless advised
with significantly increased optionality. As a given their global engagement. Retail clients
result, regional banks will also be significantly won’t be significantly affected; they simply need
impacted by the migration. Despite having more to be aware of the additional data requirements
time and flexibility to complete their migration if they use cross-border or RTGS payments.
than banks based in Europe, these institutions
nonetheless need to analyze their prior payment Below is the representation of impact and
records. By providing insights on their GPI efforts in payment market from SMEs to Global
traffic, important currency correspondents, and banking institutions
total traffic, those adopting SWIFT Insights can
greatly benefit.

Source: URL

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 7

Impact on the lifecycle of a
payment instruction
End Customer
• Maintaining compatibility with any payment initiation method for cross-border transfers that is not
ISO 20022, such as a local file format, to be able to offer the bare minimum of information.

• Be ready to provide recipients’ structured names and addresses.

• Verify that client static data is accessible to payment processing in a structured fashion so that
debtor information may be populated.

Customer Service
• Ensure that online banking and other digital sources can use ISO 20022 message Elements

Impact on the systems and statements

used by customers
• Create a method to display additional payment information as necessary.

• Modifications to the payment information displayed on current account statements.

Ramifications for Payment Initiation Channels

• Demand or make it possible to collect structured party data for international payments.

• To support the ultimate parties, improve online banking and integration channels.

• Think about enabling the capture of structured remittance information.

• Bolster the UTF-8 standard.

• Expect modifications in the way that the CGI standard supports ISO 20022 pain instructions.

• As some local instruction formats do not support the minimal standards of cross-border
payments, expect them to be phased away.

• Improve validation criteria to consider the minimum data requirements for HVPS+/CBPR+.

Integration and Routing

• Assure a rich and comprehensive data flow to apps for downstream processing.

• Support internal messaging/APIs by at least adhering to the ISO 20022 business elements.
Think about the payment-relay scenario.

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 8

Information about payment status
• Think about implementing ISO 20022 feedback message types widely. Payment status feedback
for payments handled in ISO 20022 messages is presented on automated report screens

• Enhance older or customised feedback channels to provide accurate payment status information
for ISO 20022 transactions

Payment processing
• Qualification

1. Improve qualifying rules so they can handle the new ISO 20022 message’s data format

2. Think about the entire ISO 20022 message body, including the additional agent fields.

• Auto Repair

1. In addition to corresponding FIN elements, auto-repair rules should be adjusted to support
ISO 20022 message elements.
2. Create fresh auto-repair guidelines for fresh message components.

Manual Repair
1. Choose/implement ISO 20022 components that fall under the manual repair umbrella.
2. choosing a payment method.
3. Develop the capacity to decide on the preferable or necessary payment method by taking into
account new ISO 20022 message elements.
4. Picking an intermediary bank, if necessary.
5. Adapt the reasoning for choosing intermediary banks to include more agent fields.

• Charging Process

1. Control the complexity of FIN & ISO 20022 charge bearer codes coexisting
2. impose rigorous guidelines on the collection of charging information in PACs messages.

• Controls

1. To better screen all increased payment data, extra parties, and agents, improve embargo filtering
2. During the co-existence phase, make sure filtering systems can handle ISO 20022 and SWIFT FIN
MT feeds concurrently.

3. Using fine-grained ISO 20022 data items in data-feeds and risk typologies, improve AML
Transaction Monitoring.

• Create Advice

1. Provide structured party information (Debtor/Creditor) when creating pacs advice messages in
accordance with CBPR+ usage requirements

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 9

Impact on Financial Messaging
• Implementation of a translator for incoming and outgoing traffic that still comes from MT.
• DN format adoption for routing, Create a backup strategy.

RTGS and Local Clearing

• Customised options for moving infrastructure assisting with pacs messages.

• Mode of exchanging messages (Y Copy).
• FIN and the InterAct RMA database coexist.

Interbank statements and Account Information.

• Provisioning MT & ISO 20022 account statements concurrently

• Be ready to deliver expanded payment details to correspondent banking clients by using the
required ISO 20022 camt statements.

Exceptions and Investigations

• All investigation steps should display ISO 20022 message elements, and new ISO 20022
investigation messages should be supported
• Compared to FIN messaging, evaluate the process changes brought on by a more detailed
message portfolio for investigations and exceptions.
• Choose an alternative to the existing free format message usage (MTx99) practise.

Nostro Recons

• Make it possible for reconciliation engines to use ISO 20022 camt account statements that Nostro
Agents have sent you, together with any additional information
• Work with Nostro banks to determine the best method for implementing camt statements

Pricing, billing and chargebacks.

• Redesign the sender identification procedure for payments obtained through V-shape topology
clearing. Examine the ‘OUR’/”DEBT” claim processes for any effects.

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 10

Impact on Reports and Archives.
• Review the retrieval procedures to determine whether ISO 20022 data items should be used as
indexing and search criteria.
• As part of the new standard, archives will record the extra data.
• Payments processed in accordance with ISO 20022 must automatically update existing MIS
reports. reports that list the number and recipients of payments made using both MT and MX.

Terminologies changes from

ISO 150022 to ISO 20022

Creditor Bank Creditor Agent Debtor Bank Debtor Agent

Beneficiary Creditor Ordering Debtor

Customer Customer

Message Message
Instructing Agent Receiver Instructed Agent
Sender

Sender’s Instructing Receiver’s Instructed

Correspondent Reimbursement Agent Correspondent Reimbursement Agent

MT ISO 20022

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 11

Benefits of ISO 20022
• Enhanced Data Richness: ISO 20022 provides a standardized framework for richer, more detailed
data exchange, enabling improved transaction accuracy and transparency.

• Interoperability: The universal language of ISO 20022 promotes seamless communication across
different systems, platforms, and institutions, eliminating the barriers posed by disparate messag-
ing formats.

• Comprehensive Scope: Beyond payments, ISO 20022 encompasses various financial domains
such as securities, trade finance, and foreign exchange, fostering a holistic approach to data ex-
change.

• Real-Time Settlement: ISO 20022’s structured messaging streamlines settlement instructions,

facilitating real-time fund transfers and reducing settlement risk.

• Customer Trust: The transparency and visibility enabled by ISO 20022 enhance customer trust
through better transaction tracking and timely updates.

• Global Standardization: ISO 20022’s adoption across international financial markets fosters har-
monization, simplifying cross-border transactions and minimizing complexities.

• Innovation Enablement: The standardized data structure paves the way for the integration of
emerging technologies and payment models, driving innovation in financial services.

Data Enrichment
Ease of
in payment
Integration
messages

XML syntax
Universal & enables Authentication
visually defined interoperability using digital
Message Flows and automated signatures
processing

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 12

How will Altimetrik help here?
Altimetrik, a leading technology solutions provider, stands at the forefront of financial industry inno-
vation by offering a cutting-edge ISO 20022 message migration accelerators. Leveraging their deep
expertise in financial technology and extensive knowledge of the ISO 20022 standard, Altimetrik’s
ISO message migration accelerators have demonstrated considerable worth by simplifying input
translations, empowering business users with increased control, and ensuring the preparation of
processing components well in advance, thanks to extensive utilization of testing simulators. With
Altimetrik’s ISO 20022 accelerators, financial institutions can embrace this global standard with con-
fidence, positioning themselves for a future of enhanced efficiency and connectivity in the financial
world. Let’s take a closer look to gain a deeper understanding of the offering by Altimetrik.

ISO 20022 Message Simulator

A significant obstacle to the adoption of ISO 20022 is the intricate nature of its message set. The
message simulator serves as a tool that simplifies ISO 20022, making it more accessible to develop-
ers, testers, and product managers, thus expediting the standard’s adoption.

Standout Attributes
1. Explore

• Explore messages such as pacs.xxx or pain.xxx using a simple Excel like interface
• Identify minimum set of attributes that make up a message such as Pacs008, Pacs009, etc.
• Templatize the message for your environment by adding additional ‘required’

2. Generate

• Generate custom messages with values for minimum set of attributes

• Auto-fill meta data such as ‘<messageID>’ etc.
• Add a custom header with attributes and attribute values specific to the clearing network you are
connecting to.

3. Review

• Review the custom XML message

• Quickly identify attributes with custom values
• Add or edit custom header

4. Manage

• Download the message as XML, xls, xlsx, CSV or JSON

• Save downloaded message files for future reference
• Re-use prior generated message files

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 13

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 14
ISO 20022 Message Mapper
To accelerate the implementation of payment platform testing, we offer automated and simplified
message mapping. This service efficiently maps MT format to MX format messages and various
other formats used across financial networks. It utilizes a configuration-driven approach for mapping
to the target format and message type, streamlining the process and enhancing efficiency.

Instant Payment Accelerator

Instant Payment (IP) is a transformative force in the payments industry. Adapting existing solutions
for IP often results in increased operational complexity and costs. Altimetrik’s Payment Accelerator
is designed as a nimble, lightweight tool that provides a head start in constructing Instant Payment
processes by extending existing solutions.

Standout Attributes
1. Support multiple IP flow for a country(s)

2. Light weight event driven payments processor

3. Build on Open source, future ready and cloud agnostic technologies

4. Configuration driven build and integration of IP flows in the framework

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 15

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 16
Benefits of
• Testing and Simulation: Users can conduct
testing and simulation of ISO 20022
messages within the platform, allowing for

Atimetrik’s
thorough validation of message flows and
identifying potential issues before migration.

ISO 20022
• Error Handling and Reporting: They offer
error identification and reporting features to
help users quickly identify and resolve issues

message
during the migration process. Detailed error
logs and reports assist in troubleshooting.

migration
• Message Repository and Management:
These tools often include message repository
and management capabilities to store,

accelerators
search, and retrieve ISO 20022 messages.
This helps with auditing, compliance, and
traceability.

• Integration with Core Systems: ISO 20022

migration aggregator tools integrate with
These tools serve as centralized hubs a bank’s core banking systems, payment
for managing the migration process systems, middleware, and messaging
networks to ensure seamless message
and provide a range of features
processing within the existing infrastructure.
and capabilities to assist banks,
• Compliance Monitoring: They assist in
financial institutions, and businesses monitoring and ensuring compliance with
in their transition to ISO 20022. regulatory requirements related to ISO 20022
adoption, generating compliance reports and
Here are some key characteristics documentation as needed.
and functionalities of ISO 20022
• Client and Counterparty Connectivity:
migration aggregator tools: These tools facilitate connectivity with
clients, counterparties, and clearing
Message Transformation and Conversion:
•  systems by providing features for message
These tools offer robust message transformation, routing, and interoperability.
transformation capabilities, allowing users
• Workflow Management: Some platforms
to convert messages from legacy formats
offer workflow and process management
(e.g., SWIFT MT messages) into ISO 20022
capabilities to orchestrate and automate
messages. They typically provide mapping
various stages of the migration project, from
and translation functionality to ensure data
message mapping to testing and deployment.
consistency.
• Version Control: They help manage different
• Data Mapping and Validation: ISO 20022
versions of ISO 20022 message definitions
migration aggregator tools enable users
and ensure that messages align with specific
to map data elements from their existing
versions of the standard.
message formats to the ISO 20022 format.
They often include validation features to • Collaboration and Communication: ISO
ensure that converted messages adhere to 20022 migration aggregator tools often
ISO 20022 schema and rules. include features for collaboration and
communication among stakeholders involved
• Schema Management: These tools help
in the migration project, such as internal
manage ISO 20022 message schema
teams, clients, and counterparties.
versions and ensure compliance with the
specific version of the standard required by
the user or regulatory authorities.

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 17

Conclusion

T he promise of ISO 20022 extends beyond

technical advancements. Financial institutions
can provide their customers with enhanced visibility
into transaction status, bolstering trust and fostering
improved client relationships. Moreover, businesses
can access real-time insights that inform their
decision-making processes, allowing for more agile
responses to market changes and opportunities.

However, embracing ISO 20022 is not without its

challenges. The transition requires a comprehensive
strategy, involving technology upgrades, data
mapping, staff training, and stakeholder collaboration.
Yet, the investment is justified by the substantial
benefits that await, including reduced
operational costs, increased competitiveness,
and the ability to tap into emerging
payment models and technologies.

A ltimetrik is a leading globally trusted pure-play digital enablement company

accelerating digital business growth with speed, scale, and consistency. Witnessing
a growth of 50% y-o-y over the last few years, Altimetrik leverages agile and pragmatic
approach that focuses on bite-sized outcomes essential to accelerate business growth.
The company’s digital business methodology provides a blueprint to develop, scale, and
launch new products to market faster without disruption. Over 5,500 employees including
practitioners with software, data, and cloud engineering expertise create a vibrant culture
of innovation and agility that enhances team performance, modernizes technology, and
builds new business models. Altimetrik follows a unique approach of employing a Digital
Business Platform (DBP) enforcing the Digital Business Methodology (DBM) across
the enterprise for consistency and scale. The company actively supports education,
sustainability, and social welfare initiatives, making a positive impact in the communities
they serve. For more information on Altimterik, please visit https://altimetrik.com/

ISO 20022 - WHITE PAPER 18