How ISO 20022 works
ISO 20022 is a method more than a format. It models a business process first, takes each item of data from a central dictionary, and only then turns the model into a message, normally in XML. The message definitions are published in a catalogue kept by the standard's registration authority.
Messages are grouped by purpose and named by a short code. Payments use three groups above all:
- pain: payment initiation
- pacs: payment clearing and settlement
- camt: cash management, including statements and notifications
Where ISO 20022 is used
In the EU, Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 requires the ISO 20022 XML standard for credit transfers and direct debits in euro, so the SEPA schemes run on it. On the SWIFT network, ISO 20022 messages for cross-border payments went live in March 2023, and the coexistence with MT messages ended on 22 November 2025. SWIFT is also retiring unstructured postal addresses from these messages, on a timetable it revised in August 2026.
What ISO 20022 means for a product
The messages carry more data, in named fields: structured addresses, the parties behind a payment, fuller remittance information. That makes screening, reconciliation and automatic matching more exact. A ledger or an API designed around the older, shorter formats loses data unless it is widened, so a new payments product is usually built on ISO 20022 fields from the start.
Where ISO 20022 shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- PayoutsMoney out to bank accounts, cards and wallets, on the rail that fits each payment.
- Accounts & IBANsCustomer accounts with their own IBANs, on the partner bank and the rails you choose.
- LedgerThe double-entry book of record behind every balance, fee and transfer.
- Compliance reportingTransaction monitoring, the Travel Rule and regulatory reports, ready for your regulator.
Platforms that need it
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
- ISO 20022, About ISO 20022 (the standard's registration authority)
- SWIFT, ISO 20022 for Financial Institutions: the CBPR+ roadmap and the end of coexistence
- Regulation (EU) No 260/2012, the SEPA Regulation, consolidated to 8 April 2024 (EUR-Lex)
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.