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Fedwire® Services

Fedwire Services

It’s time to plan for Phase 2

February 2010

With the completion of the November 2009 implementation of the Fedwire Funds Service message format changes for cover payments, the Federal Reserve Banks are now focusing on Phase 2 of the format changes. This phase will support extended-character business remittance information, provide an improved solution for cover payments and support other changes. Input from financial institutions in the 2008 Message Format Survey indicated a clear preference for this two-phased implementation strategy.

Although an exact date for the Fedwire Funds Service message format changes has not been announced, implementation will take place no earlier than November 2010.

Because all customers who access the Fedwire Funds Service via the FedLine Direct® or FedLine Advantage® access solutions will be affected, planning ahead is critical.

Let the planning begin

The changes, which were originally announced (PDF) on May 13, 2008, will include the:

  • Addition of a new business function code — Customer Transfer Plus (CTP) — and corresponding tags to support payment notification, mapping to the SWIFT field 50a Originator field, cover payments and extended business remittance information
  • Global changes that apply to all Fedwire Funds Service messages, including the elimination or modification of certain characters, tags and data elements

Sending options: FedLine Direct and FedLine Advantage customers will have the option to use either the new CTP or the classic Customer Transfer (CTR) message for sending customer transfer messages. However, only the CTP message will include new features, such as support for cover payments and extended business remittance information. Even if you decide not to send the CTP message, you will still need to make changes to support the global changes being made to all Fedwire Funds Service messages.

Receiving requirements: Because both the existing CTR message and new CTP message will be supported in the future, you will need to have the ability to receive both messages.

We encourage you to begin planning for the upcoming format changes now. Begin working with vendors and internal software development teams to ensure that any payment applications that interface with the Fedwire Funds Service can send and receive messages using the new format. External systems may also need to be modified to accommodate these changes.

Resources to help you prepare

We are committed to supporting you throughout the process of implementing the 2010 format changes. In December 2009, technical documentation related to the upcoming changes was supplied to all affected customers. If you have not yet received this documentation, please contact your designated Customer Contact Center (CCC).

Our online resource center includes background information, frequently asked questions, testing updates and other support information. As you prepare for the upcoming format changes, check this resource regularly for updates and information about how to register for future in-person and online information sessions that we will offer to help you prepare.

Your designated Wholesale Operations Site and Wholesale Testing Unit can also help answer any questions you have regarding these changes and the impact to your institution.

Additional information will be provided as we approach the date for implementing the Fedwire Funds Service format changes. Please continue to check FedFocus, FedFlash® and FRBservices.org for updated information.

“SWIFT” is a trademark of S.W.I.F.T. SCRL.

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