A significant development for treasury payments is on the horizon. The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to shift to ISO 20022, an international financial messaging standard, for real-time payments, which will speed up settlements and allow for more detailed remittance data. In late 2025, SWIFT will also begin to phase out its legacy MT messages, and cross-border payments will rely more heavily on these newer, more data-rich formats. With a new global standard that different banks and regions all recognize, companies can avoid navigating through a jumble of formats and conflicting timelines.

Why is ISO 20022 Important?

ISO 20022 is designed to change how financial data is communicated and will serve as a consistent language for financial transactions. Instead of using older messaging formats that rely on unstructured text, ISO 20022 introduces structured data fields—for example, addresses, names, and payment references will be contained into clearly labeled categories, rather than crammed into a single text block.

When information is more structured and organized, it becomes easier for businesses and financial institutions to reconcile payments, reduce manual errors, and eliminate time-consuming processes to fix mistakes. With the international implementation of ISO 20022, structured field formats will become standard. For instance, as financial institutions begin to implement ISO 20022, they will start requiring structured address information from corporates that align with each field.

How Treasury Teams Can Prepare for the ISO 20022 Transition

Upgrading to ISO 20022 can be a heavy lift, especially if older systems aren’t set up for XML-based messages. Some organizations also have to manage multiple bank relationships, each with its own schedule for making the switch. However, training treasury teams to handle richer data is part of the learning curve, and the payoff is worth it. Embracing more structured information simplifies the process of automating tasks like cash flow forecasting and invoice matching. Companies can gain more accurate insights into their daily cash positions and can lower the odds of having payments held up by compliance red tape.

Some practical ways treasury teams can prepare for ISO 20022 are:

• Figure out where you still rely on older payment formats

• Communicate with your banks to understand their timelines and expectations

• Ensure your ERP or treasury management systems can create and process ISO 20022 messages

• Prepare your teams to work with new messaging structures

Once you’re prepared for the shift, you can start using real-time data more strategically. With faster, more transparent payments, you can foster stronger partnerships with suppliers and customers as you’ll have fewer disputed invoices or missing references.

An additional benefit of preparing early is future-proofing your operations for real-time payment initiatives and other changes down the road. Many companies are already seeing cost savings and fewer payment exceptions by shifting to automated, analytics-driven treasury workflows that leverage ISO 20022’s capabilities.

How GTreasury Can Help

GTreasury has offered support for these formats for several years, which leads to a smoother transition to ISO 20022 with minimal headaches. Reaching out to experts for guidance on updating systems and processes can also help you ensure compliance and make the transition feel more like an opportunity than a burden.

If you have questions about ISO 20022 implementation and want to learn how these changes can benefit your organization, please contact our team of experts today.

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