Fedwire^® Funds Services ISO^® 20022 Frequently Asked Questions (revised as of January 2023)

ISO 20022 Overview

1. What is ISO 20022?

   ISO refers to the International Organization for Standardization, which is a network of national standards bodies that develop international standards. ISO publishes standards for a broad range of industries. The United States is a member of and contributor to ISO standards for the financial industry through the Accredited Standards Committee X9–Financial Industry Standards, Inc.

   The ISO 20022 standard supports financial messaging and uses extensible markup language (XML) syntax. ISO 20022 messages use a common data dictionary, can carry a considerable amount of information, and can support payment messages from end to end, including the following:

   • Payment initiation (corporate to bank)
   • Interbank settlement (bank to bank)
   • Cash management (bank to corporate)

   
   

   The ISO 20022 standard is being adopted by an increasing number of the world’s payments, clearing, and settlement systems, including European countries, Japan, Switzerland, and India, and has attracted growing interest from financial institutions, corporations, and financial applications providers.

2. Where can I learn about ISO 20022?

   The Business Payments Coalition (Off-site) has three publications, provided below, to help people learn more about ISO 20022. The BPC is an industry group of organizations and individuals working to promote adoption of electronic business-to-business (B2B) payments, remittance data, and invoices.

   1. Understanding ISO 20022 Resource Guide (2017) (Off-site, PDF)
      This guide is a compilation of existing resources that provide information on the ISO 20022 standard, including tools that help with transitioning to the new standard such as mapping tools and implementation guides.
   2. U.S. Adoption of ISO 20022 (2017) (Off-site, PDF)
      This white paper is a companion document to the Understanding ISO 20022 Resource Guide and provides evidence of U.S. adoption of ISO 20022 for corporate to bank payment operations.
   3. ISO 2002 in Plain English (Off-site, PDF)
      This is the presentation from webinar “Overview of ISO 20022: A Business Framework Discussion,” which covered the basics of ISO 20022 explained in plain language.

   
   
3. What is a SWIFT Message Type? Is that the same as or different than the ISO 20022 message format?

   SWIFT Message Types (MTs) are the formats used to send messages on the SWIFT network to financial institutions. SWIFT MTs are different than ISO 20022 message formats, although there are certain similarities. SWIFT MTs were developed by SWIFT but incorporated into an ISO standard, ISO 15022. ISO 20022 is a new standard based in large part on the ISO 15022 standard but uses XML as its syntax.

4. Can you provide an example of the ISO 20022 format?

   The following example uses the address fields to illustrate one difference between the current Fedwire Funds Service proprietary message format and the ISO 20022 format.

   Fedwire Funds Service	ISO 20022
   For each party field in a message, the Fedwire Funds Service format contains three free-text lines for address information:	The ISO 20022 format uses XML syntax and contains discrete fields designed to contain specific address information, which makes it easier to identify components of the address (e.g., country code):
   Address Line 1 (up to 35 characters) Address Line 2 (up to 35 characters) Address Line 3 (up to 35 characters)	Postal Address <PstlAdr> <AdrTp> (4 characters) <Dept> (up to 70 characters) <SubDept> (up to 70 characters) <StrtNm> (up to 70 characters) <BldgNb> (up to 16 characters) <PstCd> (up to 16 characters) <TwnNm> (up to 35 characters) <CtrySubDvsn> (up to 35 characters) <Ctry> (2 characters)

5. Can you provide some use cases to illustrate the potential benefits of the ISO 20022 format?

   In 2016, the Federal Reserve Banks presented a webinar, which includes use cases. It can be accessed directly at:

   • ISO 20022 Use Cases for U.S. Wire Transfer Systems Webinar (Off-site)

   A presentation deck used in the webinar can be accessed directly at:

   • ISO 20022 Use Cases for U.S. Wire Transfer Systems Webinar Presentation (Off-site, PDF)

Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 Implementation

1. Why are the Federal Reserve Banks implementing ISO 20022 payment messages for the Fedwire Funds Service?

   The Federal Reserve Banks are adopting ISO 20022 messages for the Fedwire Funds Service as a strategic imperative. We believe modernizing the Fedwire Funds Service’s message format represents an investment for the future. Adopting the ISO 20022 message standard should help the Federal Reserve Banks meet increasing demands from Fedwire Funds Service participants for richer data, help participants more easily comply with evolving regulatory requirements, help improve the Fedwire Funds Service’s interoperability with other payment systems in the interconnected, global economy, and help participants provide enhanced services to their clients. The table below illustrates some strategic reasons for adopting ISO 20022 messages for the Fedwire Funds Service.

   Strategic Reasons to Adopt ISO 20022

   Reason	Description
   Provides richer data	The ISO 20022 format contains structured fields to support longer names and specific address components, including a country code, which could reduce the risk of data loss and might improve the regulatory screening process. The ISO 20022 format supports a structured format for extended remittance information, which could improve straight-through processing for corporate business-to-business payments.
   Promotes domestic & cross-border interoperability	A common format promotes ease of transacting domestically and globally by using a single, open standard rather than multiple proprietary standards, which require mapping and can be costly and cumbersome for banks, corporates, and vendors. The ISO 20022 format contains fields that are common across the suite of ISO 20022 payment messages so that the same information can be carried from end to end of a funds transfer, which could increase accuracy and straight-through processing and reduce operating costs for all participants. Other payments markets, including those of key U.S. trading partners, have gone live with ISO 20022 (e.g., Bangladesh, Brunei, China, India, Japan, Switzerland) or are in the development stages of implementing ISO 20022 (e.g., Canada, Europe, United Kingdom).
   Provides opportunities to improve existing processes or add new services	Moving to a common global format could: Reduce the need for market practices that arise due to inconsistent formats and field and/or message capacity limitations Improve extended remittance information capabilities Support value-added services (e.g., payment tracking & prioritization, administrative and reporting functions)
   U.S. payment systems could fall behind the rest of the world and be perceived as “outdated”	Lack of ISO 20022 adoption could: Degrade the U.S. dollar’s leadership as a global settlement currency Encourage migration of U.S. dollar clearing offshore, to other currencies, or to emerging payment systems built with new technologies.

2. What will change in the Fedwire Funds Service as a result of implementing the ISO 20022 messaging standard?

   The Federal Reserve Banks will implement ISO 20022 messages for both domestic and cross-border funds transfers, as well as all other inputs and outputs, from the Fedwire Funds Service (i.e., all message types, inquiries, reports, etc.).

   The Fedwire Funds Service’s ISO 20022 implementation will also include enhancements based on customer feedback, including new fields for additional persons or entities identified in payment messages, purpose codes to help explain the business purpose of funds transfers, and structured address components, including a country code.

3. Will the ISO 20022 implementation also apply to the Fedwire Securities Service or the FedACH Service?

   No, the Federal Reserve Banks are not implementing ISO 20022 messages for the Fedwire Securities Service or the FedACH Service. ISO 20022 messages are being implemented only for the Fedwire Funds Service.

4. How will the Federal Reserve Banks migrate Fedwire Funds Service participants to the ISO 20022 format and when is the new implementation date?

   On June 27, 2022, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) announced (Off-site) in a Federal Register notice (Off-site) that the Federal Reserve Banks will adopt the ISO 20022 message format for the Fedwire Funds Service in a single-day implementation strategy on March 10, 2025.

5. How did the Board determine the new implementation date?

   The Board determined the March 10, 2025 implementation date based on feedback received in response to the Federal Register notice (Off-site) published in October 2021. Such feedback included:

   • Avoid implementing the ISO 20022 message format close to a U.S. banking holiday, during the winter holiday season (which also generally coincides with many firms’ annual technology freeze periods), or at the end of a calendar month or quarter.
   • Provide a gap between the 2023 launch of the FedNow^SM Service and the Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 implementation.
   • Allow additional time for industry testing of ISO 20022 messages.

   
    
6. Does the new ISO 20022 implementation date for the Fedwire Funds Service impact the tag {8200} message format changes being made in March 2023?

   No, the Federal Reserve Banks plan to implement the Fedwire Funds Service message format changes related to tag {8200}, effective March 20, 2023. These changes will be made to support a market practice to allow SWIFT participants to map ISO 20022 SWIFT messages to the Fedwire Funds Service once SWIFT and other high-value payments systems in Europe begin supporting ISO 20022 messages in March 2023.

7. Does the new ISO 20022 implementation date for the Fedwire Funds Service impact the ISO 20022 implementation for the CHIPS system?

   On May 26, 2022, The Clearing House issued a press release (Off-site) to announce that the CHIPS system remains on schedule to implement the ISO 20022 message format in November 2023 as planned.

8. What do I need to do to prepare for the Fedwire Funds Service’s implementation of ISO 20022 messages?

   The extent of your preparations will largely depend on:

   • How much technology you have integrated with the processing of your outgoing and incoming Fedwire Funds Service messages
   • The degree to which you perform your own software development
   • The degree to which you rely on service providers and/or software vendors to provide an interface to the Fedwire Funds Service
9. What is the impact of the ISO 20022 implementation on my institution?

   The table below shows how particular types of Fedwire Funds Service participants (or their service providers) will be affected by the ISO 20022 implementation.

   Type of Fedwire Funds Service

   Participant	Impact of ISO 20022 Implementation
   Fedwire Funds Service participants and service providers that access the service via the FedLine Direct® solution	Participants and service providers may need to make (or may need to ensure their service providers make) significant changes to their payment applications or processes so they can send and receive messages in the ISO 20002 message formats. This group will need to obtain the ISO 20022 format specification documents, which will outline the changes needed to accommodate the ISO 20022 format for the Fedwire Funds Service. These documents are posted to the Fedwire Funds Service’s private page on the MyStandards website. Note: If your institution works with a vendor, check this website to see if your software vendor is listed. If your vendor is not listed on the website, please submit the legal name of the vendor as well as contact information for the vendor.
   Fedwire Funds Service participants that use the Import/Export feature of FedPayments® Manager – Funds over the FedLine Advantage® solution	Participants may need to make significant changes to their payment applications or processes so they can import and export files with ISO 20022-formatted messages. This group will need to obtain the ISO 20022 format specification documents (including the import/export file specification document), which will outline the changes needed to accommodate the ISO 20022 format for the Fedwire Funds Service. These documents are posted to the Fedwire Funds Service's private page on the MyStandards website. Note: If your institution works with a vendor, check this website to see if your software vendor is listed. If your vendor is not listed on the website, please submit the legal name of the vendor as well as contact information for the vendor.
   Fedwire Funds Service participants that manually create messages directly in FedPayments Manager–Funds (accessed through the FedLine Advantage solution)	The Federal Reserve Banks will make the necessary changes to the FedPayments Manager–Funds application and provide training on enhanced features. This group will need to become familiar with the look and feel of the updated application and with the enhanced features. Some participants that manually create messages but use the export feature to download their messages may need to make changes to their processes (e.g., for OFAC scanning, for saving messages to archives). Note: If your institution works with a vendor, check this website to see if your software vendor is listed. If your vendor is not listed on the website, please submit the legal name of the vendor as well as contact information for the vendor.
   Fedwire Funds Service participants that use the offline service	Participants’ current process for submitting messages to the offline service will not materially change. There may be marginal changes around the type of information Wholesale Operations Site operators collect by telephone, as well as the order in which they collect the information, based on the new message format.

10. What is the difference between the ISO 20022 implementation for the Fedwire Funds Service and the FedNow^SM Service?

    While both the Fedwire Funds Service and the FedNow Service plan to use the ISO 20022 message format, the implementations of the ISO 20022 standard for these services are separate initiatives. The FedNow Service will be a brand new system that will leverage ISO 20022 messages from the outset, whereas the ISO 20022 implementation for the Fedwire Funds Service involves replacing the current proprietary message format for the existing system with ISO 20022 messages.

    The Federal Reserve Banks plan to align the implementation of the ISO 20022 message format for the FedNow Service and the Fedwire Funds Service to the greatest extent possible, though there will be some differences in how the ISO 20022 message format is implemented for these services. For example, the Fedwire Funds Service will not adopt a request for information feature planned for the FedNow Service so that Fedwire Funds Service participants do not receive new types of messages.

    The Federal Reserve Banks published the ISO 20022 message specifications for the FedNow Service on the MyStandards^® website in March 2021 and will publish the ISO 20022 message specifications for the Fedwire Funds Service on MyStandards on June 30, 2022. Within MyStandards, users can use the comparison feature to identify the differences between the ISO 20022 messages for the FedNow Service and the comparable ISO 20022 messages for the Fedwire Funds Service.

Format Documentation

1. How will my institution get the format specifications to prepare for the ISO 20022 Fedwire Funds Service implementation?

   The final ISO 20022 message format specifications have been published on the Fedwire Funds Service page on SWIFT’s MyStandards platform on June 30, 2022. The use of MyStandards is free and does not require SWIFT membership but users will need a valid swift.com login ID and password to access the MyStandards platform. For questions related to MyStandards access, please email us at Fedwire.Funds.Format@ny.frb.org.

2. Will the Federal Reserve Banks publish the technical header information and error code glossary?

   We plan to make the technical header information and error code glossary available on MyStandards. Additional details will be provided later this year.

Software Vendor Information

1. My vendor is not on the list that is provided in the ISO 20022 Implementation Center. What does my institution need to do to ensure our vendor is aware of the ISO 20022 migration effort?

   If you are a Fedwire Funds Service participant that uses a vendor in connection with your use of the Fedwire Funds Service but your vendor is not listed on the vendor list page, please contact your Account Executive. In addition, ensure that you and your vendor(s) review the Testing Requirements and Key Milestones page to understand the requirements related to the ISO 20022 migration.

Testing Strategy and Industry Readiness

1. When will the testing strategy for the ISO 20022 implementation for the Fedwire Funds Service be available?

   The Federal Reserve Banks plan to provide details on the testing requirements and key milestones for the ISO 20022 implementation for the Fedwire Funds Service in early 2023. We anticipate that all users that will be required to complete testing will be notified by the end of 2022. ISO 20022 testing will take place across multiple testing environments: MyStandards Readiness Portal, the new Depository Institution Testing environment (DIT2), and the production environment. The Federal Reserve Banks will provide detailed test scripts and attestation forms for each testing environment in advance of making each environment available for testing.

2. What is MyStandards Readiness Portal and when can we start testing test ISO 20022 messages using this tool?

   The MyStandards Readiness Portal will be a dedicated testing environment that will allow users to validate their test ISO 20022 messages against the Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 specifications before beginning testing in the DIT2 environment. Specifically, users will be able to submit their test ISO 20022 messages to the MyStandards Readiness Portal to ensure that their messages are structured properly and pass various format requirements for each message (e.g., mandatory versus optional data elements, minimum or maximum field lengths, allowable characters or codes). This advance testing will greatly reduce the risk of Fedwire Funds Service users encountering message format errors during the next phases of testing in the DIT2 environment. Certain users will be required to attest to successful completion of a test script in the MyStandards Readiness Portal before conducting testing in the DIT2 environment. The Federal Reserve Banks plan to make the MyStandards Readiness Portal available to users in early March 2023.

3. What is the new Depository Institution Testing environment (DIT2)?

   The Federal Reserve Banks have established a second Depository Institution Testing environment (DIT2) that will allow users to perform dedicated testing with the new ISO 20022 version of the Fedwire Funds Service application software. We will make the DIT2 environment with ISO 20022 software available to users at least 12 months prior to the March 10, 2025 implementation date. We will also provide opportunities for users to test with each other in DIT2. Certain users will be required to attest to successful completion of a test script in DIT2 before conducting testing in the production environment. The existing user testing environment (DIT) will remain available and include the version of the Fedwire Funds Service application software that will become effective March 20, 2023. DIT will be available for users to perform application functionality testing with the current format to support internal changes necessary before ISO 20022 implementation. It will also enable service providers to onboard new users prior to ISO 20022 implementation.

4. What testing is required in the production environment?

   The Federal Reserve Banks will deploy the ISO 20022 version of the Fedwire Funds Service software to the production environment on select Saturdays prior to the March 10, 2025 implementation date to allow users to test their ISO 20022 changes with the Fedwire Funds Service production software. Certain users will be required to attest to successful completion of a test script in the production environment prior to the implementation. We will publish the dates for the Saturday production testing at least one year prior to the implementation date.

5. How will we know we are on track to meet the March 10, 2025 implementation date?

   Once testing begins, the Federal Reserve Banks will publish a dashboard on the Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 Implementation Center page to provide transparency into industry readiness throughout the project lifecycle. The dashboard will also provide early insights into issues that could potentially impact the implementation timeline. While the Federal Reserve Banks will monitor individual user readiness, the dashboard will highlight industry readiness by user categories (e.g., national accounts, service providers, bankers’ banks/corporate credit unions) across key testing milestones.

6. When will the Federal Reserve Banks make the final “go/no go” decision before the March 10, 2025 implementation date?

   Under a revised “backout” strategy, the Federal Reserve Banks plan to complete all internal and user testing activities at least two weeks prior to the ISO 20022 implementation date and make a “go/no go” decision based on internal and industry readiness. The Federal Reserve Banks will notify all users about the “go/no go” decision no later than two weeks prior to the implementation date. If a “go” decision is made, the Federal Reserve Banks will be subject to a two-week freeze period during which no further changes would be made to the ISO 20022 software and production infrastructure. If the Federal Reserve Banks decide to delay the implementation date for any reason, the notification would provide users two weeks’ advance notice to adjust their plans.

7. What happens if the Federal Reserve Banks encounter a significant issue with the ISO 20022-related changes for the Fedwire Funds Service on or after the March 10, 2025 implementation date?

   Consistent with prior customer-facing initiatives, the Federal Reserve Banks will follow a “fix-in-place” strategy if any issues arise during or after the deployment of the ISO 20022 software to the production environment. If issues do arise, the Federal Reserve Banks will implement a software update to address the issue as soon as the fix has been identified and fully tested.

Education and Training

1. When will training be offered on the ISO 20022 message format specifications?

   The Federal Reserve Banks launched the ISO 20022 education program in the fourth quarter of 2022 with a series of webinars and workshops. Please visit the Education Opportunities page for additional information.

2. Where can I get more information on the ISO 20022 implementation for the Fedwire Funds Service?

   For the latest information on the Federal Reserve Banks’ approach to implementing ISO 20022 messages for the Fedwire Funds Service and planned educational outreach events, please visit the Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 Implementation Center page. For additional background information, please visit Adoption of ISO 20022 (Off-site). You can also request a free copy of ISO 20022 for Dummies (Off-site).

3. We create wires manually in FedPayments Manager–Funds application. How will we get trained on the new screens?

   The Federal Reserve Banks will provide training webinars to help Fedwire Funds Service participants familiarize themselves with any screens that will be changed to accommodate the ISO 20022 implementation for the Fedwire Funds Service.

Additional Questions

1. My institution uses templates in the FedPayments Manager–Funds application. How will we be impacted?

   If your institution uses templates in the FedPayments Manager–Funds application, these templates will no longer work once the Fedwire Funds Service implements the ISO 20022 message format. Your institution will be required to recreate templates that you need in the new format after the new format is implemented.

   To prepare for this change, your institution can:

   • review how the templates are currently being used;
   • consider reducing the number of templates you have and only keep those that are critical for your operation;
   • once the new format is available, test in the Depository Institution Test environment to become familiar with the template feature in the new format (templates that are created can be saved in the DIT for use as a reference); and,
   • be prepared to recreate those critical templates in the new format after the new format is implemented.
2. Will broadcast messages for E-Payments Directory and Fedwire Securities Service move to the ISO 20022 standard?

   Broadcast messages related to the E-Payments Directory and Fedwire Securities Service will remain in the legacy format.

3. We receive the end-of-day Financial Institution Reconcilement Data (FIRD) file from the Fed. Will this file be changed in anyway with the ISO 20022 project?

   The Federal Reserve Banks will implement a change to one field that contains the type/subtype code (i.e., four numeric characters). This field will be replaced by a new local instrument code, which will be in four alphanumeric characters. The timing of this change is to be determined. See example below:

   Example of the Message Type with the Type/Subtype and the Local Instrument Code

   Message Type	Type/Subtype	Local Instrument Code
   Customer Transfer	1000	CTR0
   Bank Transfer	1600	BTR6

4. How will retrievals be supported when the new format is implemented?

   For users of FedPayments Manager – Funds application via the FedLine Advantage solution:

   Fedwire Funds Service participants will continue to be able to retrieve past messages for the prior 15 months. Each past message will be formatted in the version in which it was created and will display as such upon retrieval.

   For users of the FedLine Direct solution:

   The Federal Reserve Banks will not support prior-day retrieval requests after cutover to ISO 20022 message format. Fedwire Funds Service participants and service providers will be able to retrieve messages in the ISO 20022 message format only. For example, if ISO 20022 message format goes live on a Monday:

   • On Monday, only retrieve ISO 20022 messages from the current day (Monday)
   • On Tuesday, can retrieve ISO 20022 messages from current day (Tuesday) and only 1 prior business day (Monday)
   • On Wednesday, can retrieve ISO 20022 messages from current day (Wednesday) and 2 prior business days (Monday and Tuesday)
   • On Thursday, can retrieve ISO 20022 messages from current day (Thursday) and 2 prior business days (Tuesday and Wednesday)