Leading financial institutions around the world plan to complete their migration from traditional payment messaging formats (MT series) to the ISO 20022 XML-based MX format by November 22, 2025.
A deadline has been set for SWIFT (Society for World Interbank Financial Telecommunication) to fully implement its new system for financial data exchange.
This marks the end of an era in which old and new formats operated side by side. Some banks and payment infrastructure providers are already preparing for this in advance.
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ISO 20022 supports much richer data fields than the older MT standard, including purpose codes, structured identifiers, details about the payer or payee, and remittance data. This improves AML and KYC transparency, makes it easier to settle transactions, and supports the process of converting physical assets into digital tokens.
The global transition to the new ISO 20022 financial messaging system has been delayed three times since it was first introduced nearly five years ago.
Interestingly, a report released by the central bank in June showed that almost half of the world’s central banks have yet to upgrade their primary payment systems to the new ISO 20022 standard. Of the 49 central banks that shared data, less than 45% had fully implemented it, and just over 6% had implemented it only in part of their operations.
Impact on the cryptocurrency industry
This puts crypto companies that deal with tokenized assets, stablecoins, or cross-border payments at a crossroads. They must now decide whether to connect their systems to this new banking standard or risk being left behind when banks fully implement it.
This also means that digital tokens, which are already compatible with new banking standards, could become even more popular as banks and fintech companies re-evaluate which cryptocurrencies to use in their systems.
Crypto projects like XRP and Stellar have long emphasized compatibility with ISO 20022 as a competitive advantage, and the upcoming transition makes it a stronger argument.
It is worth noting that if banks encounter problems while switching to a new system, they may consider other options such as private blockchains or public crypto networks as backups. This may temporarily increase business for some crypto infrastructure providers.
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