SWIFT Mandates ISO 20022 Standard by November Deadline
New era in bank transfers: Structured addresses become mandatory.
1SWIFT's New Regulation
Starting November 14, 2024, SWIFT will no longer accept cross-border payments with completely unstructured addresses. This move forces banks to adopt the ISO 20022 standard. XML-based MX messages will replace the old MT message format.
2Importance of Structured Data
In the new system, address information will be divided into labeled fields (name, street, city, country). This will make data machine-readable and verifiable. The old 'text blob' format is becoming obsolete.
3Challenges in Transition
Since January 2023, SWIFT has been charging additional fees to banks using the old MT format. This puts banks under both cost and technical infrastructure pressure. The critical deadline for seamless transition is approaching rapidly.
4Relation to Crypto Assets
For cryptocurrencies like XRP that claim ISO 20022 compliance, this standard only provides technical compatibility. It doesn't mean SWIFT will settle through any cryptocurrency. The standard only regulates data formatting.
5Bank Preparations
Global banks are accelerating infrastructure updates to transition to the new messaging system. After November, transfers with unstructured addresses will be automatically rejected. At minimum, city and country information must be in separate fields.
6Financial System Transformation
The mandatory adoption of ISO 20022 marks a milestone in the digital transformation of global payment systems. This change standardizes interbank communication while expanding automation and data analytics capabilities.
Original article: DailyCoin — SWIFT, Kasım'da ISO 20022 Standartını Zorunlu Kılıyor