ISO 20022 is an international standard and methodology for financial messages. It provides structured data models and message definitions used across payments and other financial services, helping institutions exchange richer and more consistent information than unstructured free-text instructions.
Quick reference for ISO 20022
| Check | What it means for the transaction |
|---|---|
| Category | Global B2B payment operations |
| Record to keep | Keep the instruction, party and account identifiers, validation result, timestamps, institution references and reconciliation outcome. |
| Do not infer | Initiation, processing, clearing and settlement are different events. One status should not be used as proof of another. |
ISO 20022 and nearby terms
- SWIFT payment: A SWIFT payment is commonly understood as an international bank transfer instructed using financial messages sent through the Swift network.
- Straight-through processing (STP): Straight-through processing, or STP, allows a payment to move from instruction through validation and processing without manual re-entry or repair.
