ISO 20022

It is an international, unified standard for electronic communication in financial systems, established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The standard was created to:

• simplify and standardize existing electronic data exchange standards between financial and accounting systems – such as payments and bank statements
• increase the security of payment transactions

The basis for information exchange is XML files with a defined structure.

ISO 20022 introduces new payment formats. Both banks and their clients must adapt their financial and accounting systems (ERP) to meet the requirements of the new standard.

The migration to new XML formats has already begun. The final ISO 20022 deadlines may be postponed for selected types of messages, or the migration dates for specific systems may change.

The international ISO 20022 standard will come into force from mid-November 2026.

Changes are being introduced in stages – we will keep you informed on an ongoing basis.

Note: During the transition period, payments can still be made using the current standard.

The introduction of the international standard will:

• facilitate data exchange between different clearing systems
• enable precise identification and accounting of transactions

Due to the upcoming changes, it is advisable to ensure that recipient address data in financial and accounting systems is structured.

The changes cover all types of payments: from transfer forms, through domestic and foreign payment file formats: SORBNET, SEPA, SWIFT, TARGET, to new reports and statements.

• The most noticeable change will be the redesign of transfer forms and the requirement to provide addresses in a structured format. Separate fields will be introduced, e.g.: street, house number, city, postal code, country, etc.
• For foreign transfers, the “city” and “country” fields will be mandatory
• Counterparty forms in the iPKO biznes service will include more address details
• File formats – a new standard is being introduced for imported domestic and foreign transfer files. This will be the XML ISO 20022 format: 001.001.09. Currently, iPKO biznes supports import of files in XML format pain.001.001.07
• Standard reports and MT940/942/ELIXIR statements – no withdrawal or modification of existing standard statements is planned. These statements will not include structured address data
• A second statement format has been introduced. New statements compliant with ISO 20022 are: 053.001.08 (daily statement) and camt.052.001.08 (intraday statement)