ISO 20022 in bytes provides resources and tools to help you prepare for ISO 20022 adoption so you can benefit from high quality payments powered by high quality data.
Welcome to the 5th edition of ISO 20022 in bytes, providing customer insights from Singapore with the domestic RTGS now set to go live in June 2022, just a few months ahead of CBPR+.
A recently published report by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) explains the drivers and approach for a payments market infrastructure (MI) to adopt HVPS+, providing inspiration for other MIs. In this edition, we also provide an update on the CBPR+ programme. This includes the outcome of the recent pilot for our new in-flow translation service, progress made on the Test Sparring Partner (TSP) service and readiness of the FINplus service – the foundation for comprehensive individual and community testing.
The voice of the Singapore community
MAS and Swift have published a joint report on ISO 20022 adoption. The report aims to offer a view on the approach and framework employed by MAS in its adoption of ISO 20022 for its financial MI.
Some key highlights of the report:
- The consultancy study was carried out by MAS and Swift to establish the adoption approach and facilitate the development of the ISO 20022 message schemas for MAS’ real-time gross settlement system, MAS Electronic Payment System (MEPS+) and its next-generation settlement system: Singapore Central Real-time Integrated Payment and Securities settlement system (SCRIPS).
- The report sets out a summary of the outcomes and final conclusion. It includes:
- Project scope and governance arrangement
- High level impact assessment and high-level gap analysis outcomes
- ISO 20022 adoption approach
- Harmonisation with international standards and maintenance of the schemas on an ongoing basis
The ISO 20022 migration will be conducted in a two-phased approach:
- Phase 1 (Like-for-Like++)
- Phase 2 (Full ISO)
- Considerations:
- Swift performed detailed mapping between MEPS+ payments and securities messages and the target ISO 20022 messages (> 100 messages).
- MEPS+ ISO 20022 messages are aligned to CBPR+ and HVPS+.
- Next steps:
- The study provides early information on the testing tool, the Swift MyStandards Readiness Portal, which MAS will provide to the MEPS+ direct participants to support their internal readiness for the MEPS+ ISO 20022 adoption.
- Looking ahead, a MAS and industry advisory group (possibly formed under the auspices of the Singapore Swift User Group) is being considered to assist in future updates, alignment and harmonisation of the ISO 20022 specifications in Singapore.
The full report is available to download from the Document Centre in the ISO 20022 hub on swift.com
FINplus updates and call for action
FINplus delivers the core Swift store-and-forward message processing service to support secure and reliable exchange of ISO 20022 messages between financial institutions. It will provide financial institutions that are currently using the FIN service to exchange financial transactions in MT format with the necessary environment to exchange the richer ISO 20022 format messages as MX messages on SwiftNet. This currently includes a selection of ISO 20022 base message definitions for FINplus for securities and CBPR+ usage guidelines, with message details available in MyStandards.
CBPR+ 2.0 message validation is set to be deployed on the FINplus Pilot Future service on 25 July 2021. This will enable message testing on the Swift network. The Phase 1 release of our enhanced Swift platform is scheduled for November 2022, and messages will go live then.
In addition please note that, as part of the 2021 Standards Release, messages in FINplus related to the Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II) and Central Securities Depositaries Regulation (CSDR) are changing:
- SRD II: For 10 out the 13 messages, new versions will be available on FINplus as of 25 July 2021 and available in the live environment on 21 November 2021. The three remaining messages will not change, i.e. will continue to use the same Request Type, but Swift will stop using the usage identifier.
- CSDR: the submitter has made some changes to its message, therefore the DRAFT4semt.044 message is replaced by the DRAFT5semt.044 message.
We will also add new messages in FINplus – 98 securities messages and four tracking messages. These will be available in the FINplus Pilot Future service on 25 July 2021 and available in the live environment on 21 November 2021.
Further details can be found in the following Knowledge Base tip: 5024231
Successful completion of customer pilot for in-flow translation service
To maintain interoperability during the transition from MT to ISO 20022, Swift is providing an ISO 20022 to MT translation capability. June 2021 saw the successful completion of the pilot for a new messaging based in-flow translation service.
‘In-flow translation’ means that translation takes place during message processing by Swift. This allows for the receipt of both FIN MT and ISO 20022 MX messages. A customer will receive these as a multi-format message delivered over Swift’s FINplus messaging service. The approach aims to facilitate integration in cases where not all of a receiving customer’s applications support the ISO 20022 format yet. Messages in scope relate to CBPR+ usage guidelines for ISO 20022.
As part of pilot preparations, 11 test scenarios were agreed. In June 2021 the pilot was completed with seven participating banks. It confirmed that transactions involving three key participants could be completed using the service:
- Confirm sending of CBPR+ compliant payments (Debtor Agent)
- Confirm ability to consume translated MT messages and act upon truncated data to be able to process it into back-office systems (Intermediary Agent)
- Ensure transaction completes successfully (Creditor Agent)
The in-flow translation service will form part of FINplus and be available for testing from November 2021. At that point it will automatically be enabled for existing FINplus participants, along with new participants who subscribe to FINplus prior to November. This will also help in ensuring platform readiness. A key action is to upgrade the messaging interface to ensure receipt of MX messages over FINplus, Subscribing to FINplus supports this as it involves configuring the interface.
Your Test Sparring Partner is available
Ahead of the in-flow translation service within FINplus becoming available in November, you can start testing CBPR+ messages and flows using the Swift Test Sparring Partner (TSP). From the end of July, we will make a free-of-charge version of TSP available to any institution subscribed to the FINplus service.
The application provides a pre-defined set of test scenarios and associated test data for sending, receiving and relaying pacs.008 messages. Over Q3 2021, the scope of testable messages will expand to other pacs and camt messages. For institutions aiming to customise the test scenarios and the test data, we also offer a premium, payable version of the application.
If you’d like to learn more about the TSP, there is a dedicated e-learning module on Swift Smart. We have also published a fifth ISO 20022 Adoption Briefing on Swift Smart. This explains the required steps to test CBPR+ messages and flows, including using TSP.
Swift platform evolution: Connectivity guidance – what’s new?
In March 2021, we published our Connectivity guidance, setting out our vision for customer connectivity to the enhanced Swift platform. This document provides information on the options available for connecting so that customers can plan implementations and take advantage of faster, smarter, better transactions.
A new version is now available with important updates including:
- A detailed annex on the messages in scope of Release 1 of the transaction manager within the platform, and an overview of other ISO 20022 messages for which Swift provides in-flow translation
- More information on the interfaces release timeline
- An update on the availability of API specifications
Download Swift platform evolution: Connectivity guidance - v1.1
Update on the vendor community
Swift continues to collaborate with the vendor community, providing the foundation for native ISO 20022 readiness in the back-office.
The number of ‘ISO 20022 ready’ vendors and products continues to increase, with 63 vendors confirmed as ready and a further 85 committed to support the CBPR+ message collection. We’ve also co-created a number of thought leadership pieces highlighting the industry-wide benefits that ISO 20022 can offer, including a recent paper with Fiorano.
All of the information, tools and support needed for a vendor to adopt ISO 20022 CBPR+ is published here. In addition, each month we deliver a live Global Vendor Webinar which provides all the latest updates, with recordings available on-demand.
Coming to you
Swift platform evolution – customer readiness webinars
The go-live date for ISO 20022 and the enhanced Swift platform is November 2022. Alongside preparing to adopt ISO 20022, there are also a number of mandatory steps all Swift customers must perform to make sure they’re ready for the platform. We’re engaging with our community via a series of webinars taking place across regions to support ISO 20022 adoption along with platform readiness. Register for a webinar in your region at the date and time of your choice using the link below.
APAC
It’s been a very busy quarter. First, we conducted a series of workshops with key intermediaries to share the latest developments on CBPR+ along with the transaction manager within the platform. This has also helped Swift to better understand ISO 20022 adoption timelines in the APAC region. These workshops supported the banks in strategising around ISO 20022 adoption, build the business case, and most importantly, plan for a smooth transition and go–live in 2022!
We have also made use of User Group Meetings, for example, in Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia and/or key industry events to talk to our community about ISO 20022 and platform readiness.
In parallel, we have supported banks in their efforts to educate their clients and colleagues about the importance and benefits of ISO 20022 adoption. We are honored to participate in workshops held for banks’ clients along with internal awareness sessions providing updates on ISO 20022.
Finally, as a major milestone in the APAC region, the Philippines RTGS will go-live on HVPS+ in July.
Americas
Swift continues to support ISO 20022 workshops in collaboration with our key clients. In July we will contribute to the Standard Chartered bank Academy ‘ISO 20022 Deep Dive Session for FI clients.
More information
We continue to support your work by updating and expanding the resources we offer on ISO 20022 adoption.
Adoption briefings
As mentioned above, we have added to our suite of adoption briefings on Swift Smart, covering key aspects of ISO 20022 adoption. The following are now available, aiding understanding of requirements and how Swift can support:
- CBPR+ v2.0
- Testing CBPR+ messages and flows
- In-flow translation and Multi-format MX messages
CBPR+ modules
All existing CBPR+ modules on Swift Smart have been reviewed and aligned with CBPR+ v2.0:
- One new Swift Smart module – Payments Returns (pacs.004)
- End-of-Day Account Reporting (camt.053)
- Debit / Credit Notification (camt.054)
Contact us
Contact us at iso20022programme@swift.com, or your local contacts at:
- Asia Pacific – Connie.MA@swift.com or Franck.DEPRAETERE@swift.com
- Europe – Gregory.MESTDAG@swift.com
- Americas and UK – Marcos.CAMERON@swift.com
