Background: the ISO 20022 messaging standard
ISO 20022 is an ISO standard for electronic data interchange between financial institutions. It describes a metadata repository containing descriptions of messages and business processes, and a maintenance process for the repository content. The standard covers financial information transferred between financial institutions that includes payment transactions, securities trading and settlement information, credit and debit card transactions and other financial information. Initial adoption began in March 2023 with a transition roadmap published by SWIFT.
The message metadata is described by UML models with a special ISO 20022 UML Profile. Underlying all of this is the ISO 20022 metamodel – a model of the models. The UML profile is the metamodel transformed into UML. The metadata is transformed into the syntax of messages used in financial networks. The first syntax supported for messages was XML Schema.
ISO 20022 is widely used in financial services. ISO 20022 is the successor to ISO 15022; originally ISO 20022 was called ISO 15022 2nd Edition. ISO 15022 was the successor of ISO 7775.
4 sources for this section
- 1ISO 20022 — Wikipedia, revision 1371780668
- 2"ISO 20022 - The new language of payments | HSBC". www.gbm.hsbc.com. Archived from the original on 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- 3Team, I. R. "What is ISO 20022 and How is it Changing in 2022? | IR". www.ir.com. Archived from the original on 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
- 4"SWIFT Cross-Border Payments Migration to ISO20022 Benefits". Bank of America. Archived from the original on 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2025-11-28.
Adoption
A 2015 report by the United States's Federal Reserve System classified Europe having "mature adopters" of ISO 20022; India, South Africa, Japan, Singapore, and Switzerland as having "growing adopters"; and Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand as having "interested adopters". The report concluded that the Federal Reserve should push for ISO 20022 adoption within the United States financial system.
Australia's New Payments Platform, launched in February 2018, uses ISO 20022 messaging.
Nordic countries launched the P27 payment platform, but that initiative eventually failed in 2023.
5 sources for this section
- 1ISO 20022 — Wikipedia, revision 1371780668
- 5"Strategies for improving the U.S. payment system" (PDF). Federal Reserve System. 26 January 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2015-05-16.
- 6"The New Payments Platform Launches" (PDF). NPPA. 13 February 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- 7"The Platform". NPPA. Archived from the original on 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-03-19.
- 8Anupam Majumdar & Simone Remba (25 April 2023). "P27: Lessons Learned from the Latest Failure in Pan-European Payment Collaborations". Flagship Advisory Partners. Archived from the original on 2024-12-25. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
The source notesEvidence & further reading8 sources
- ISO 20022 — Wikipedia, revision 1371780668 Wikipedia contributors · Reference source · accessed 2026-09-22
- "ISO 20022 - The new language of payments | HSBC". www.gbm.hsbc.com. Archived from the original on 2026-01-14. Retrieved 2025-11-28. gbm.hsbc.com · Reference source · link imported 2026-09-22
- Team, I. R. "What is ISO 20022 and How is it Changing in 2022? | IR". www.ir.com. Archived from the original on 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2025-11-28. ir.com · Reference source · link imported 2026-09-22
- "SWIFT Cross-Border Payments Migration to ISO20022 Benefits". Bank of America. Archived from the original on 2025-11-12. Retrieved 2025-11-28. business.bofa.com · Reference source · link imported 2026-09-22
- "Strategies for improving the U.S. payment system" (PDF). Federal Reserve System. 26 January 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-04-01. Retrieved 2015-05-16. fedpaymentsimprovement.org · Reference source · link imported 2026-09-22
- "The New Payments Platform Launches" (PDF). NPPA. 13 February 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-03-19. nppa.com.au · Reference source · link imported 2026-09-22
- "The Platform". NPPA. Archived from the original on 2019-03-05. Retrieved 2019-03-19. nppa.com.au · Reference source · link imported 2026-09-22