ECB welcomes the CPMI’s report on harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements for cross-border payments

17 October 2023

The European Central Bank (ECB) welcomes the publication of a report on the harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements for cross-border payments by the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI). The report sets out 12 harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements that will ensure interoperability between payment systems and mechanisms at a global level and thereby enhance straight-through processing, making cross-border payments cheaper and faster.

The ECB intends to fully align its TARGET Services with the harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements by the end of 2027 at the latest. In order to ensure that end-users around the world fully benefit from the harmonised requirements, the ECB also encourages other market infrastructures and payment service providers participating in cross-border payments to follow suit.

The requirements focus on a core set of ISO 20022 messages that are commonly used for cross-border payments. They are intended to foster the adoption of new business process flows and to carry more structured and granular information. How payment systems implement and use the ISO 20022 messaging standard currently varies around the world, which causes inefficiencies in the cross-border payment chain due to misaligned message flows and inconsistence data usage. The implementation of harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements will help reduce those inefficiencies and lead to the enhancement of cross-border payment messages through improved straight-through processing. As such, it will also contribute to the targets set by the G20 to improve the cost, speed and transparency of cross-border payments.

In its role as an operator, catalyst and overseer of payment systems, the ECB supports the CPMI’s cross-border payments programme and has adopted the ISO 20022 message standard for its TARGET Services.