ISO 20022

ISO 20022

wire transfer migration to iso 20022

Important changes are on the horizon for Wire Transfers. Here’s some information to get you started on what they are, what they mean, and when they will happen.

What is ISO 20022?

Federal Reserve Banks currently use a proprietary wire format that is specific to the Fedwire Funds Service. This current FAIM format (Fedwire Application Interface Manual) is being replaced in favor of the ISO 20022 (ISO) format, which is a global standard used by many financial institutions.

 

What does this mean?

All wires sent through the Federal Reserve will need to be in compliance with the ISO 20022 standards before the deadline. There are significant wire format and field label changes associated with this migration. This does not affect ACH transfers. 

 

When is this happening?

The Federal Reserve cutover to ISO 20022 from FAIM is March 10, 2025. All wires sent on or after this date must be in the new ISO format.
 

Here are some key terminology changes that will take place:
Beneficiary Creditor
Originator Debtor
Originating Bank/Sending Bank Debtor AND Instructing Agent
Beneficiary Bank Creditor Agent
Domestic Intermediary Instructed Agent
International Intermediary Bank Intermediary Agent
Routing Number Agent ID
Reference Beneficiary End to End ID
Address Line 1 Building Number and Street Name
Address Line 2/3 Department, Sub Department, Building Name, Floor, Room, Town Location Name, District Name, Post Box
City Town Name
State Country Sub Division
Zip Code Post Code
Country Country
Account Number Account Number
Amount
Amount
Additional Information Remittance Information
Purpose Purpose
those address fields don't seem to line up.  What should we expect on day 1 (3/10/25)?
 
Good catch!
  • There isn’t a 1:1 ratio between FAIM and ISO fields. The biggest difference are the address fields, and for those changes you will need to move the information from Address Line 1 (FAIM) to Street Name (ISO). There is a 70-character limit for the Street Name field. Any Address Line 1 entries may be truncated, as necessary.
  • For Domestic wires: not all of the new and segmented address fields are required, so if the data is slightly off, the wire should still be able to be sent if the following required fields have not changed:
Agent ID (Bank ID) Account Number
Agent Name (Bank Name) City/Town Name (City)
Agent City (Bank City) Agent Country
Agent State (Bank State)
Cash Management Wire Customers should plan to review your Creditors (Beneficiaries) on Day 1. You won’t be able to make changes to Creditor information prior to March 10, so please ensure you plan to review in a timely manner


What can I be doing now?

  • Cash Management Wire Customers please review your existing wire beneficiary templates and delete any that you no longer need or use.
  • Be aware of the upcoming changes and review all information we share with you up until the migration date.
  • Mark your calendars for March 10, 2025! You’ll want to log in early on this day to re-enter your wire templates and become familiar with the new format. 

Who do I contact for assistance?

Cash Management Wire Customers, please contact Andrew or eBanking:
All other wire customers should call 800.664.1778