Everything you need to know about the ISO 20022 payment standard change — what it is, whether it affects you, and what steps to take before the November 2026 deadline.
What's happening?
Banks are adopting a new payment format standard called ISO 20022. From November 2026, payment files that don't meet this standard will be rejected by your bank — meaning wages, supplier payments, and direct debit collections could fail if your formats haven't been updated in time.
This is an industry-wide change, not something specific to your bank or our platform. AIB, HSBC and Barclays have already issued formal notifications, and more banks are expected to follow.
Does this affect you?
This change affects you if you are using any of the following payment formats:
Any SEPA Credit Transfer format, including custom-named formats built on the same XML standard – used for cross-border euro payments to suppliers.
Any SEPA Direct Debit format, including custom-named formats built on the same XML standard – used for collecting payments from customers.
SWIFT MT (MT103/MT100) – used for international payments via SWIFT.
If you're unsure which formats your business uses, you can check within your BACS and Direct Debit Export screens.
Domestic payment formats (such as BACS Standard 18 or NatWest domestic) are not affected by this change.
What do you need to do?
The good news is that the technical updates to your payment files will be handled by our team — you don't need to understand the technical detail.
If you have customized formats, contact your CSM or Account Manager as soon as possible to raise a ticket and have your files updated. Standard formats will be updated by our team ahead of the November 2026 deadline — no action needed on your part.
Check and update your address data. One of the new bank requirements is that payment files must include a structured postal address for your suppliers, customers, banks, and company. Your updated format can be activated without this data in place, but when you attempt to export a payment file the system will display an error highlighting any records where the mandatory fields are empty — the export will not complete until those are resolved.
We recommend acting well ahead of the deadline — your town/city name and country code must be filled in for every supplier, customer, bank, and company record in your system. This can take time to complete across a large base, so it is worth starting early.
If you use SWIFT MT formats (MT103/MT100): these formats require a more substantial rebuild rather than a simple update, and the replacement format specification will need to come from your bank directly. Contact your bank representative to obtain the new format requirements, then get in touch with your CSM or Account Manager to have the new formats created.
Actions and Timeline - what and by when:
If you have customised formats, contact your CSM or Account Manager to raise a ticket As soon as possible — well ahead of November
Ensure town/city name and country code are filled in for all supplier, customer, bank, and company records Before your first export using the updated format
If you use SWIFT MT formats: contact your bank representative to obtain the new format requirements, then inform your CSM or Account Manager As soon as your bank issues their requirements,
Bank Deadline:
What | By when |
If you have customised formats, contact your CSM or Account Manager to raise a ticket | As soon as possible — well ahead of November |
Ensure town/city name and country code are filled in for all supplier, customer, bank, and company records | Before your first export using the updated format |
If you use SWIFT MT formats: contact your bank representative to obtain the new format requirements, then inform your CSM or Account Manager | As soon as your bank issues their requirements |
Bank deadline: files must comply with ISO 20022 | November 2026 |
Questions?
If you're not sure whether you're affected, or would like to understand what this means for your setup, please get in touch with your CSM or Account Manager — they'll be happy to walk you through what applies to you.