[Cash Management]
Wire Transfer Migration to ISO 20022: What You Need to Know
WHAT IS ISO 20022?
The Federal Reserve is transitioning from its current proprietary wire format (FAIM) to the global ISO 20022
standard, which is already
used by many financial institutions. The switch will affect wire transfers processed through the Federal
Reserve.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
Starting July 14, 2025, all wire transfers sent through the Federal Reserve MUST comply
with the new ISO 20022 format. This
change will introduce significant modifications to wire formats and field labels.
Note: ACH transfers are not impacted.
WHEN IS THIS HAPPENING?
The Federal Reserve cutover to ISO 20022 from FAIM was for Monday, March 10, 2025. All wires sent on or after this date must be in
the new ISO format. However, after careful consideration, the Federal Reserve has decided to reschedule the Fedwire Funds Service
ISO 20022 implementation to July 14, 2025.
Here are some key terminology changes that will take place:
| Current (FAIM) Format | ISO 20022 Format (Effective July 14, 2025) |
|---|---|
| Credit Account Name | Creditor |
| Originator | Debtor |
| Originating Bank / Sending Bank | Debtor Agent / Instructing Agent |
| Beneficiary Bank | Creditor Agent |
| Domestic Intermediary/Receiving Bank | 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 Subdivision |
| Zip Code | Post Code |
| Country | Country |
| Account Number | Account Number |
| Amount | Amount |
| Additional Information | Remittance Information |
| Purpose | Purpose |
WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT ON DAY 1 (JULY 14, 2025)?
Those address fields don't seem to line up. -> Good catch!
• There isn’t a 1 to 1 relationship between current fields 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 (current FAIM format) to Street Name (ISO
20022 format).
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 (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.
