SWIFT has completed its migration to the ISO 20022 messaging standard, retiring the Message Type (MT) format for cross-border payments.
The coexistence period for payment instructions ended on 22 November 2025, making full adoption mandatory for participating institutions.
“We are committed to supporting all institutions in their ISO 20022 adoption journey,” the company said.
ISO 20022 is an open global standard for financial messaging, designed to deliver consistent, structured data across all types of financial transactions.
Swift says the new format provides better structured data end to end, improving transparency, remittance information, and overall customer experience.
“ISO 20022 brings richer data, better compliance and improved automation, but preparation is key to avoid NAK’ed messages and operational delays,” Swift said in a social media post.
The standard also reduces manual intervention through stronger analytics, more accurate compliance, greater resilience and enhanced fraud prevention, according to the company.
Just under 200 market infrastructure driven initiatives are either already implementing ISO 20022 or considering adopting the standard for payments and securities transformation projects.
