The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) announced in a Federal Register notice (Off-site) (Notice) that the Federal Reserve Banks will adopt the ISO 20022 message format for the Fedwire Funds Service. The Board is also seeking input by January 4, 2022, on a revised plan for migrating the Fedwire Funds Service to the ISO 20022 message format. Specifically, the Board is proposing that the Reserve Banks adopt the new message format on a single day, rather than in three separate phases as previously proposed. This migration is targeted for, and would be no earlier than, November 2023.
The Notice summarizes industry feedback received in response to the Federal Register notice (Off-site) published in July 2018, which proposed a three-phased approach to migrate the Fedwire Funds Service to the ISO 20022 standard. In September 2019, the Federal Reserve Banks issued a press release to announce a pause in the ISO 20022 migration for the Fedwire Funds Service to evaluate an industry request to reassess the three-phased strategy in favor of a single-day implementation approach.
Recently, the Federal Reserve Banks announced the message specifications for the FedNowSM Service. While both the Fedwire Funds Service and the FedNow Service plan to use ISO 20022 messages, the implementations of the ISO 20022 standard for these services are separate initiatives.
The Federal Reserve is seeking feedback on all aspects of the proposal described in the Notice, including the specific questions below:
- Do you support the single-day implementation strategy? If not, what implementation strategy would be optimal?
- Should the Reserve Banks implement ISO 20022 for the Fedwire Funds Service in November 2023? If not, what implementation date do you prefer? Please provide the rationale behind your preference.
- Should the Reserve Banks and The Clearing House implement ISO 20022 for the Fedwire Funds Service and CHIPS® on the same day?
- Do you have any resource constraints or other challenges that would impact your ability to prepare for the implementation of ISO 20022 for the Fedwire Funds Service? (For example, some Fedwire Funds Service participants and software vendors may also be preparing for the ISO 20022 implementations for SWIFT and other payment system operators, which begin in November 2022, and the Reserve Banks’ launch of the FedNow Service in 2023.)
- Do you have any concerns about the Reserve Banks’ proposed testing strategy and requirements?
- How much time would you need to test your ISO 20022 messages in the MyStandards Readiness Portal before testing in the new second Depository Institution Testing (DIT) environment?
- Would nine months of testing ISO 20022 messages in the new second DIT environment be sufficient? If not, what is the minimum amount of testing you would require in the second DIT environment before the ISO 20022 implementation date?
- Do you have any concerns about (i) proposed backout strategy for the ISO 20022 changes on the Saturday before the implementation date or (ii) the proposed fix-in-place strategy on or after the implementation date?
Resources
The Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 Implementation Center contains additional information, including Frequently Asked Questions on ISO 20022.
Action Item:
Submit your feedback on the Notice (Off-site) by January 4, 2022.
All comments will be posted to the Board website without alteration except when necessary for technical reasons or to remove sensitive personally identifying information. We encourage you to provide comments via the following options:
- Board website (Off-site): Follow the instructions (Off-site) for submitting comments
- Email: Include the docket number, OP-1613, in the subject line when emailing comments to regs.comments@federalreserve.gov
- Fax: (202) 452-3819 or (202) 452-3102
- Mail to: Ann E. Misback, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20551
Note
“ISO” is a registered trademark of the International Organization for Standardization.
“CHIPS” is a registered service mark of The Clearing House Payments Company LLC.
