Benefits of ISO 20022 Implementation

We often hear that ISO 20022 allows “richer data” — but what does that actually mean? It means a fundamental shift in how payments talk. 💬 Today’s payment messages are like a postcard — they get the job done, but with very limited room to explain. 📦 ISO 20022 is like a well-structured, secure package — carrying detailed, structured, machine-readable information with each payment. 🚀 What Does “Richer Data” Enable? 💳 Card Issuers: Gain deeper insights into merchant and consumer behavior (e.g., exact SKUs, invoice numbers, tax breakdowns). This fuels better credit risk models, loyalty programs, and fraud detection. 🌐 Payment Networks: Improve interoperability, enable real-time cross-border traceability, and reduce failed or delayed payments through structured remittance and reference fields. 🏦 Fintechs: Can parse payments for actionable intelligence — automating reconciliation, enabling invoice financing, or offering BNPL tied to SKU-level insights. 🧠 Examples of Data Carried with ISO 20022: ✅ Invoice numbers ✅ Tax codes ✅ SKU-level breakdown ✅ Payment purpose ✅ Regulatory tags (e.g., AML, KYC flags) ✅ Payer and payee IDs in a consistent structure 💡 Why It Matters More transparency → Less fraud More structure → More automation More context → Smarter products 🔄 From Compliance to Competitive Advantage Yes, ISO 20022 is being mandated globally (SWIFT, FedWire, TARGET2…) — But the real winners will be those who don’t just comply, but innovate on top of it. 📣 The future of payments is not just faster. It's richer, smarter, and more useful. #ISO20022 #Payments #Fintech #CardIssuers #PaymentNetworks #DigitalTransformation #StructuredData #BNPL #RealtimePayments #FinancialInnovation

In today's daily dose of payments... The #Payment Language Banks Can’t Afford to Ignore (And Why It’s Not Just about Compliance: 🔑 ISO 20022: The Smart Language of Payments and the Engine of #OpenBanking ISO 20022 isn’t just a messaging upgrade it’s the data backbone of modern finance. Big banks are already tapping its power. But smaller firms with limited budgets and technical teams risk being left behind. Standing still means losing ground to agile competitors running faster, smarter with richer data. 👀 What Is ISO 20022 and Why It Matters: At its core, ISO 20022 is an XML based standard for richer, structured payment messages. It carries: Invoice references/ Purpose codes/ Payer/payee IDs (country code, LEI, VAT) Fee and charges details This unlocks new business intelligence from payments data that older SWIFT MT formats simply couldn’t hold. ✅ What You Can Do With It Cash-flow clarity: Real-time reconciliation brings accurate liquidity forecasting and working capital optimization. Counterparty insights: Rich metadata unlocks trend analysis, risk profiling, and opportunities like short-term loans. Fraud control: Duplicate invoices, mismatched charges, or invalid payee details become visible. Efficiency gains: Automated reconciliation, better screening, consolidated reporting, and cost reduction. Regulatory strength: Built-in tracking of audit trails, sanctions lists, and standardized instruction references. ➡️ Brazil in Action PIX: Handles 15+ million instant payments daily many with ISO-aligned metadata enabling seamless integration with both local and cross-border flows. RTGS upgrades: Brazil’s central bank is embedding ISO into core systems connecting PIX to SWIFT corridors and Open Banking APIs. 🌎 Latin America Rollout Brazil PIX live w/ ISO; RTGS modernization Real-time API corridors = richer cross-border payout ➡️ U.S. Landscape & Open Banking Signal FedNow & CHIPS migrating by 2025 in line with SWIFT CBPR+ deadlines. Open Banking growth means ISO-based APIs are key to data-sharing and ecosystem interoperability. Yet, many banks still juggle MT and MX formats, risking truncation unless handled strategically. 🚀 Small & Mid-Size Banks: Zero-Cost, Big-Impact Strategies Phased approach: Start with cloud translation during coexistence, evolve to full MX. Low-cost tools: Leverage ISO 20022 validators to secure data quality early. Leadership move: Use remittance visibility for smarter lending, pricing, fraud detection, and customer engagement. 👀 Bottom Line: ISO 20022 isn’t a compliance checkbox it’s a competitive advantage. In Brazil, Mexico, Chile and soon across U.S. rails richer data, speed, and transparency fuse to define future-ready finance. #ISO20022 #OpenBanking #RealTimePayments #CrossBorder #BankingInnovation #Fintech #PaymentsLeadership Mastercard Visa Visa Direct

As of Monday U.S. wires go ISO 20022. Why should you care? Because moving money is increasingly commoditized, but providing data that enables contextualizing transactions, automating processes, and mitigating risk delivers real value. After years of preparation, and delays, The Federal Reserve’s Fedwire system will shift to the global ISO 20022 XML format on Monday. The other U.S. wire operator, The Clearing House, migrated its CHIPS system over a year ago. The global deadline for Swift cross-border message migration to ISO 20022 (and the end of coexistence with legacy Swift MT formats) is November 22, 2025. Rich, structured data in every wire payment message isn’t just a compliance obligation—it’s an opportunity. Let’s not forget, ISO 20022 underpins new instant payment infrastructure here in the U.S. and around the world. This isn’t just about wires. ISO 20022 provides an opportunity to: ✅ Streamline reconciliation ✅ Reduce manual intervention when something goes wrong ✅ Detect fraud more intelligently ✅ Automate compliance with embedded metadata ✅ Lay the groundwork for smarter treasury and payments operations But only IF we actually populate and use the ISO 20022 format. It isn't a new specification but it has become a global standard. It has been widely anticipated as an important driver of efficiency and new data-centric solutions for banks. But in the meantime, the world has become much more fragmented and complex. In an increasingly embedded payment ecosystem, banks are far removed from back office workflows and the data that contextualizes transactions. Deep integrations and partnerships will be necessary to access and deliver data to corporate clients. Too many FIs are treating this shift as a box to check, not a chance to compete more effectively in B2B and drive fee revenue. I suspect that very few banks will have the wherewithal (and fortitude) to consolidate, harmonize, and structure their data so that they can make the most of ISO 20022. But those that do will be able to drive both internal efficiency and new revenue streams. (And as a result they will have a leg up when it comes to leveraging AI, too.) A few years ago, the X-9 data standards organization published a paper outlining B2B (AR and AP) opportunities to leverage ISO 20022. It has practical guidance not just for banks but for  corporates, ERP/accounting providers, PSPs, and the broader ecosystem that serves B2B payments. I’ve provided a link in the comments. So now that you’ve transitioned to ISO 20022 for wires and you’re wondering how to use your investment to do more than check a compliance box please reach out. I’m here to help banks, fintechs, and corporates turn this mandatory migration into meaningful advantage that delivers true value to buyers and suppliers on either side of B2B transactions. Finally, thanks to Ravi Loganathan, Toine van Beusekom, Anand Vaidya, and Rich Dooley, MBA, CTP for great conversations about this topic.