ISO 20022 – WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Important changes are on the horizon for Wire Transfers. Here’s some information to get you started on what they are, what they mean, and when they will happen.
What is ISO 20022?
Federal Reserve Banks currently use a proprietary wire format that is specific to the Fedwire Funds Service. This current FAIM format (Fedwire Application Interface Manual) is being replaced in favor of the ISO 20022 (ISO) format, which is a global standard used by many financial institutions.
When is this happening?
The Federal Reserve cutover to ISO 20022 from FAIM is July 14, 2025. All wires sent on or after this date must be in the new ISO format.
What does this mean?
All wires sent through the Federal Reserve will need to be in compliance with the ISO 20022 standards before the deadline. There are significant wire format and field label changes associated with this migration. Changes to the naming conventions for the fields and their labels are the primary changes you will see. The address fields are the biggest change.
New Wire Terminology: What’s Changing?
These are the field name changes that will affect you the most:
| Current Wire Field | New ISO 20022 Field |
|---|---|
Recipient | Creditor |
Originator | Debtor |
Origination Bank/Sending Bank | Debtor and Instructing Agent |
Recipient Bank | Creditor Agent |
Beneficiary Institution | Instructed Agent |
International Intermediary Bank | Intermediary Agent |
Routing Number | Routing/ABA Number |
Address Line 1 | Building number and Street name |
Address Line 2/3 | Department, Sub Department, PO Box, Building Name, Room, Floor, Town Location, District Name |
City | Town Name |
State | Country subdivision |
Zip Code | Postal Code |
Country | Country (Country Code) |
Notes | Remittance Information |
I use FNB’s Business Online banking, what do I need to do?
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Although we plan to convert your Cash Management wire templates, it is strongly recommended to print your current Cast Management wire templates beforehand to retain the information for your records.
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Review your existing wire templates and delete any that you no longer need or use.
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Be aware of the upcoming changes and review all information we share with you up until the migration date.
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Familiarize yourself with key terminology changes.
What should we expect on day 1 (7/14/25)?
You should plan to review your Creditors (Beneficiaries) on Day 1. You won’t be able to make changes to Creditor information prior to July 14, so please ensure you plan to review in a timely manner.
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There isn’t a 1:1 ratio between FAIM 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 (FAIM) to Street Name (ISO). There is a 70-character limit for the Street Name field. Any Address Line 1 entries may be truncated, as necessary.
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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 Name (City) |
Agent City (Bank City) | Agent Country |
Agent State (Bank State) |
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