Preparing for the Future: The Continuous Evolution of ISO 20022

While November 2025 marks the compliance deadline for ISO 20022, the journey doesn't end there. The standard will continue to evolve, requiring ongoing adaptation and improvement.

Our recent webinar on the topic of ISO 20022 saw our panellists engaging and sharing some insightful knowledge about the messaging standard. This blog pulls out some of the key points raised during that session. If you’d like access to the full webinar recording please get in touch.

Leveraging the Benefits of ISO 20022

Emma Saxton, Product Owner at Swift, provided some insightful information with regards to what lies ahead for ISO 20022. Emma emphasised the need for institutions to go beyond mere compliance to fully leverage the benefits of the messaging standard. This includes capturing and using rich, structured data to improve customer experiences and operational processes.

The rich data capabilities of ISO 20022 allows banks to offer better services to their customers. For instance, detailed payment information enables end-to-end tracking of transactions, increasing transparency and customer satisfaction. Institutions implementing ISO 20022 will achieve a better STP (straight-through processing) rate, helping reduce processing costs and time, enhance the customer experience by minimising friction, and ensure greater transparency throughout the payment value chain (Swift). Additionally, this will also aid banks in refining their compliance procedures and more effectively managing data quality issues.

Resources and Community Support

Chloe Jenkins, a PMPG member and CBPR+ UK representative, highlighted several resources that are available to support institutions in their ISO 20022 journey. These include the PMPG papers, which cover various aspects of ISO 20022 migration, Swift's User Handbook, and monthly webinars and LinkedIn Live sessions that provide regular updates, Q&A’s and actionable steps for financial institutions.

Strategic Advantage

Russell Saunders, Independent Director at iFast Bank, agreed with Emma’s earlier comments and emphasised that moving beyond compliance can unlock strategic advantages for financial institutions.

Banks can leverage the richer data sets offered by ISO 20022 to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ behaviours and needs. This can help them innovate and develop better tailored financial products and services for their consumer base. For example, with ISO, banks will be able to analyse transaction data to identify spending patterns and offer personalised financial advice or customised products based on individual customer profiles.

Risk Reduction and Cost Management

By reducing the need for multiple legacy systems and formats, ISO 20022 helps lower maintenance costs and operational risks. Standardising internal formats reduces oversight and management burdens. Confirmation of payee systems and global sanction screening offers enhanced security and efficiency. This standardisation not only simplifies technology infrastructure but also enhances data quality and integrity, ensuring that all systems within the bank communicate effectively using a common language. This streamlined communication reduces the risk of data errors and inconsistencies, which can be costly and time-consuming to resolve.

Importance of Early Adoption and Testing

Justin Brearley-Smith, Global ISO 20022 Product Lead at JPMorgan, emphasised that “Thorough, robust testing is key to a successful implementation”. He advises everyone to undergo many phases testing to “help you iron out any problems that you may find in your adoption” and encourages everyone to “adopt sooner rather than later. Don't leave it all to the end. Find out where your issues are and stagger your deliveries so it's not one big bang on November 25th and you're not being caught out by the end of coexistence.”

Call to Action

Take advantage of our free one-to-one ISO 20022 Readiness Assessment to evaluate your organisation's preparedness to deliver a successful ISO 20022 migration. Our experts will review your tools, processes, and testing capabilities, identifying areas for improvement and any potential risks to provide high-level recommendations to guide your next steps towards a robust, compliant ISO 20022 migration.

Contact us at ask@roq.co.uk to book your free assessment today.