ISO 20022, the global standard for payments and trade, is reshaping how businesses manage cash and information flows. By replacing fragmented legacy formats, ISO 20022 defines a single, universal language for payments and reporting worldwide.

Around the globe, countries have gradually rolled out ISO 20022, with Swift requiring all cross-border payments to adopt the standard by November 2025 (excluding corporate-to-bank traffic in the near term) — a firm deadline that makes it important for corporates to stay informed on how their banks are progressing.

In the U.S., the transition is further along: CHIPS and Fedwire completed their migrations, while the Clearing House’s® Real-Time Payments (RTP®) network and the Federal Reserve’s FedNow® instant payments services were built natively on ISO 20022.

“In today’s environment of heightened geopolitical risk and economic volatility, ISO 20022’s enriched, structured data and straight-through processing offer corporates a strategic advantage,” said Nasreen Quibria, Product Advisor, PNC Treasury Management.

“PNC’s recent CFO study, conducted in partnership with Bloomberg, reveals that many finance leaders view uncertainty as a catalyst for modernization and sharper decision-making. Against that backdrop, ISO 20022 enhances resilience — empowering treasury teams to manage risk more effectively and respond faster to exceptions.”

Why ISO 20022 Matters for Businesses 

With richer, more structured data, ISO 20022 enables:

  • Faster, cleaner reconciliations, supporting better forecasting and liquidity
  • Consolidated transactions with financial institutions for greater operational efficiency
  • Reduced compliance delays, lowering costs and risks
  • Higher straight-through processing rates for improved working capital
  • Future-proofing treasury operations

Together with tools like Swift gpi, ISO 20022 also elevates payment visibility. Like package delivery status tracking, treasurers can follow a payment’s journey at each step through their bank portals and access detailed insights along the way.  “Forward-looking treasurers are already leveraging these capabilities to unlock efficiencies and transform how they manage working capital,” Quibria noted.

Looking Beyond Borders: The Broader Impact of ISO 20022 

ISO 20022 can further streamline domestic payments, especially for businesses working with multiple banks. Instead of maintaining proprietary files for each banking relationship, companies can send ISO 20022 files with enhanced reporting that integrate seamlessly with their ERP and TMS platforms. For corporates upgrading their treasury systems, it’s an opportune time to add ISO 20022 to their implementation checklist.

“The global migration to ISO 20022 presents an enormous opportunity,” said Quibria. “When businesses, banks, networks and ERPs all converge on the standard, the entire payment chain becomes more efficient — that’s the true power of ISO 20022.”

Brilliant begins here

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