New Industry Standard Wire Format – ISO 20022
NEW FORMAT REQUIRED FOR ALL BUSINESS ONLINE BANKING WIRES ON NOVEMBER 13, 2026
What is ISO 20022?
ISO 20022 is a global financial messaging standard used by banks and payment systems around the world. It allows financial institutions to exchange payment data in a more structured, consistent and detailed format. The U.S. wire industry, including Fedwire and SWIFT, is moving to ISO 20022 to align with international standards and modernize payment processing.
ISO 20022 introduces:
- Structured name and address fields
- Dedicated field for Purpose of Payment
- More detailed remittance information
- Enhanced sender and beneficiary information
- Standardized formats recognized globally
Business Online Banking clients must update templates, file formats and payment instructions to ensure compliance with the new format standards no later than November 13, 2026. There are two key dates for MidFirst clients:
August 24
- Structured Address field updates available
- Purpose of Payment field required (international wires)
November 13
- New format requirements for wire uploads/imports
- All wire transactions, templates and files must conform to new ISO 20022 format
See below for full details of requirements, dates and deadlines.
August 24 Updates/Requirements
Wire Templates
The primary change involves how wire sender and recipient addresses are entered. Instead of entering address information in a limited number of fields, address details such as street, city, and state and zip/postal code, will need to be entered in separate fields. This means that all new wires will be entered using the updated format fields and all existing wire templates must be updated to align with the new field requirements.
Before Change:
Addresses are entered in freeform fields (Recipient Address 1, Recipient Address 2, etc):
After Change:
Each component of the address must be entered in separate, dedicated fields:
Action Required – Wire Templates
Please review and update:
- Existing wire templates
- Pending wire transfers
Beginning August 24, the Manage Templates page (Money Movement > Wire > Manage Templates) will be updated to show an exclamation mark icon beside any template missing the required ISO 20022 address information. Additionally, instructional text has been added to the Manage Templates page to clarify the meaning of the icon.
To avoid delays or disruptions, it is strongly recommended that your organization update templates and pending wires as soon as possible beginning August 24 but no later than November 13.
Purpose of Payment
A new Purpose of Payment field will be added to the Wire entry screen. This field will be mandatory for all international wires (US Dollars and foreign currency) on August 24.
Once a country is entered, click the Search link to access the Purpose of Payment codes associated with the country entered to populate the field. Note: Not all countries have codes, so users must instead enter free-form text in the Purpose of Payment field for those without codes.
Action Required – Purpose of Payment
The new field will be required for international wires beginning August 24. For international wire entries, click the Search link to select a specific code. If the country is not listed, enter the purpose of payment in the free-form field instead.
November 13 Updates/Requirements
Wire File Upload/Import
The MT103 and FEDLINE wire file formats will no longer be supported for Wire File Uploads.
The Import/Upload Wires page (Money Movement > Wire > Import/Upload Wires) will be updated November 13 to show an exclamation mark icon beside any custom wire file format missing the required ISO 20022 structured address information. Additionally, instructional text is added to the Import/Upload Wires page to clarify the meaning of the icon.
Action Required – Wire File Upload/Import
Wire files must be submitted using the PAIN.001 format or an approved custom wire file format beginning November 13. More information about requirements for wire file formats will be available in the coming weeks.
Questions?
If you have questions about these changes or need assistance updating your wire templates, please contact Treasury Management at 310.270.9559 or CA-TM@midfirst.com.