More than 98% of payment instructions are now sent in the ISO 20022 format,following the transition from the MT standard last year, putting the industry in astrong position as it moves forward.
Structured address deadline extended
The next major milestone is in November for financial institutions and their corporate clients. Thecommunity decided in 2023 to move from unstructured to structured postal addresses for ISO20022 payment messages as part of Standards Release 2026, the annual update to formats andrules for payments, securities, trade and other transaction types on the network. Swift has supportedthat transition through sustained community engagement and readiness monitoring.
As the November cutover approaches, progress remains uneven with large parts of the industryacross all regions still unable to meet the requirement. And several communities formally asked Swiftand their domestic payment market infrastructures, who have similar deadlines, for more time tocomply. In consultation with those market infrastructures, Swift has agreed to extend the timeline.
What this means in practice
In practical terms, Swift will apply a controlled extension of Standards Release 2026:
Payments changes
Swift will defer all payments changes. For the structured address requirement, Swift over the comingweeks will consult with banks, central banks, and payment market infrastructures as well as withmarket practice groups and corporates to define the optimal timing and approach. It will provide anupdate by December, at the latest, as part of its governance cycle. Other payments changes plannedfor November will be phased separately; customers can find the latest details on swift.com.
Securities, trade and other areas
Standards Release 2026 includes other changes that support key business and regulatory prioritiesbeyond payments, including the move to T+1 settlement in some markets. These are beingdecoupled so they can proceed faster. They will go live in Q1 2027, allowing sufficient time fornecessary technical work, with an exact date by mid-September after consultation with relevantstakeholders.
This approach keeps essential securities and trade changes moving while responding to thecommunity request for additional time to implement structured addresses.
Maintaining progress on structured addresses
Financial institutions that have made upgrades to meet the requirement can already gain benefits,because structured addresses can today flow seamlessly across the Swift network. In that context,Swift strongly encourages domestic payment market infrastructures and financial institutions tocontinue pressing ahead, because domestic adoption of structured addresses is a critical enabler ofcross-border progress.
Extensive resources are available to support Swift customers with readiness, along with additional details and answers to frequently asked questions in the customer area of swift.com. Theseresources will be updated regularly with the latest information, and additional updates will beprovided at Sibos.
