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ISO 20022: What does it mean for your payments?

What is the ISO 20022 standard?

ISO 20022 is a global, open communication standard for financial institutions, established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) – an independent, non-governmental standardization body. It is a language based on a business dictionary that unifies many existing, dispersed standards.

New standard, new possibilities

  • Better data quality and transparency: The new standard allows for the transmission of much richer information about a transaction. This ensures greater precision and transparency, which facilitates analysis and eliminates errors.
  • Greater process automation: Thanks to structured data, systems can automatically process and book payments. This means less manual work, time savings, and cost reduction.
  • Global standard: One, common language for banks around the world means faster and more efficient processing of international payments.

What do these changes mean for your company?

The global migration to the ISO 20022 standard introduces changes in two key areas of daily work with the bank: ordering transfers and statements received from the bank. Below, we explain what to pay attention to in each of these processes.

(1) Changes in ordering transfers

Beneficiary address

With the introduction of the ISO 20022 standard, the precise preparation of data in payment orders becomes crucial. The most important change from your perspective concerns the way information about the beneficiary is recorded, and in particular, their address. Below, we explain what this change involves and how to prepare for it.

How is it now? What will change soon?
The beneficiary's address is entered as a single, continuous text (so-called unstructured address). This construction makes it difficult for systems to interpret its individual parts. This format will be phased out. The address will need to be divided into separate fields. The minimum required is town and country. The remaining address data can also be provided in separate fields (creating a so-called structured address). Alternatively, a single, continuous address field will still be available, but even in this variant, it will be necessary to separately provide at least the town and country (creating a so-called hybrid address). Both of these forms will be supported. Thanks to this, key data will be unambiguous, which will ensure faster and more automated payment processing.

How to prepare?

  • Review of data in ERP/FA systems: If you use data from your own systems (ERP/FA) to order transfers, please ensure that the counterparties' address data contain at least the town and country, and that your system can correctly transfer them to the transfer file.
  • Updating templates in CitiDirect: If you use templates/pre-formats saved in CitiDirect, please verify them and supplement them with the missing address data when they become available.
  • Planning and performing tests: We encourage you to plan and conduct tests early.

Changes concerning specific payment types

Although the general principle of data structuring is common, the dates of its implementation and other specific requirements differ depending on the type of payment.

Domestic payments (PLN)

How is it currently on the market? What will change soon on the market?
  • The basic domestic payment (ACH) system, Elixir, operates on unchanged principles, i.e., it is not based on ISO 20022.
  • The instant payment system, Express Elixir, also operates on unchanged principles, i.e., it is not based on ISO 20022.
  • The high-value payment (RTGS) system, SORBNET, was migrated to the ISO 20022 standard in September 2025.
  • Work is underway to migrate the Elixir system to the ISO 20022 standard. We do not expect significant changes affecting your processes until mid-2027.
  • The Express Elixir system is not currently being migrated to the ISO 20022 standard.
  • The SORBNET system is regularly updated. The next change, planned for November 2026, will result in the withdrawal of support for the unstructured address. A structured and hybrid address will be available.
How is it currently in Citi Handlowy? What will change soon in Citi Handlowy?
  • If you order payments by filling out the form for a domestic transfer in CitiDirect, you can complete the beneficiary's address (in an unstructured form).
  • If you order payments by importing flat files into the CitiDirect system, you can also complete the beneficiary's address (in an unstructured form).
  • If you order payments with XML messages via CitiConnect, you have the option to indicate the beneficiary's address by completing the <AdrLine> field.
  • Providing the beneficiary's address will still not be mandatory, but if you provide it, from November 2026 it will be required to provide at least the town and country in the appropriate fields.
  • The domestic transfer form in CitiDirect, as well as templates/pre-formats, will be enhanced with fields: town and country.
  • Flat files will be expanded to include fields: town and country.
  • XML messages will support both hybrid and structured formats.

Payments in Euro (SEPA)

How is it currently on the market? What will change soon on the market?
The SEPA scheme was built based on the ISO 20022 standard and currently operates in this form. The SEPA scheme is regularly updated. The next change, planned for November 2026, will result in the withdrawal of support for the unstructured address. A structured and hybrid address will be available.
How is it currently in Citi Handlowy? What will change soon in Citi Handlowy?
  • If you order payments by filling out the form for a SEPA transfer in CitiDirect, you can complete the beneficiary's address (in an unstructured form).
  • If you order payments by importing flat files into the CitiDirect system, you can also complete the beneficiary's address (in an unstructured form).
  • If you order payments with XML messages via CitiConnect, you have the option to indicate the beneficiary's address by completing the <AdrLine> field.
  • Providing the beneficiary's address will still not be mandatory, but if you provide it, from November 2026 it will be required to provide at least the town and country in the appropriate fields.
  • The SEPA transfer form in CitiDirect, as well as templates/pre-formats, will be enhanced with fields: town and country.
  • Flat files will be expanded to include fields: town and country.
  • XML messages will support both hybrid and structured formats.

Foreign payments (SWIFT)

How is it currently on the market? What will change soon on the market?
  • Cross-border payments, processed through the SWIFT network, were migrated from MT messages (e.g., MT103) to MX messages (e.g., pacs.008), based on the ISO 20022 standard, in the years 2023–2025.
  • Currently, SWIFT supports all three forms of providing address data of message parties: unstructured, structured, and hybrid.
 SWIFT message standards are regularly updated. The next change, planned for November 2026, will result in the withdrawal of support for the unstructured address. A structured and hybrid address will be available.
How is it currently in Citi Handlowy? What will change soon in Citi Handlowy?
  • If you order payments by filling out the form for a foreign transfer in CitiDirect, you can complete the beneficiary's address (in an unstructured form).
  • If you order payments by importing flat files into the CitiDirect system, you can also complete the beneficiary's address (in an unstructured form).
  • If you order payments with XML messages via CitiConnect, you have the option to indicate the beneficiary's address by completing the <AdrLine> field.
  • Providing the beneficiary's address will still not be mandatory, but if you provide it, from November 2026 it will be required to provide at least the town and country in the appropriate fields.
  • Although the beneficiary's address is still formally not mandatory, we recommend completing this data to ensure smooth payment processing.
  • The foreign transfer form in CitiDirect, as well as templates/pre-formats, will be enhanced with fields: town and country.
  • Flat files will be expanded to include fields: town and country.
  • XML messages will support both hybrid and structured formats.

(2) Changes in received statements

The migration to the ISO 20022 standard is a revolution in the way you receive information about transactions on your accounts. Traditional statements in MT940 (daily) and MT942 (intra-day) formats are being replaced by their modern, much more advanced counterparts: camt.053 and camt.052. This is not just a technical change of the file format – it is a fundamental improvement in the quality and availability of data.

Limitations of the current MT formats

Traditional statement formats (MT940/942) had fields of limited length and a predefined structure. In the era of the ISO 20022 standard, when the sender's bank sends a payment in a data-rich MX format, our bank, generating a statement for you in the old MT format, must adapt this extensive information to its narrow framework.

In practice, this leads to the loss of part of the data, e.g., by shortening long payment titles or losing detailed transaction information.

Possibilities of the new camt formats

The new statement formats (camt.053 and camt.052) are natively compliant with the ISO 20022 standard. Their structure allows for the transfer of the full range of data received from the sender's bank in the MX message, without any loss or abbreviation.

What does this mean in practice:

  • Full information content: If the sender's bank sent a payment in MX format, your camt statement will show the complete, unmodified payment title, containing, for example, full invoice numbers and detailed descriptions.
  • Structured data, e.g., about returns: In the case of transactions carried out in accordance with the ISO 20022 standard (e.g., foreign payments), information about a return (pacs.004) contains a standardized reason code (e.g., AC04 – Account closed). This precise information is transferred to the camt statement, which facilitates problem identification. It should be remembered that, for example, in the case of domestic Elixir payments, the return mechanism remains unchanged for now.

Receiving full, structured data on the statement opens the way to better automation of accounting processes on your side.

Recommended actions:

  • Verification of the ERP/FA system: Please contact your financial and accounting software provider to confirm that the system is able to import and process files in camt.053 and camt.052 formats.
  • Change of statement format: Please contact your relationship manager at Citi Handlowy to order a change in the format of generated statements from MT to camt.

MT vs MX – what are the message equivalents?

The table below shows how key, traditional MT messages are replaced by their new equivalents in the MX format (ISO 20022) in the SWIFT network. The messages have been grouped according to their role in the payment process.

Process stage MT Format MX Format Description
1. Payment initiation by the client MT101 pain.001 Payment order sent by the client to the bank
MT103 pacs.008 Client payment – sent between banks on behalf of the client
2. Payment processing MT202/205 pacs.009 Bank/financial institution payment – transfer of own funds between financial institutions
MT204 pacs.010 Debit instruction between financial institutions
3. Reporting and statements (for the client) MT940/950 camt.053 End-of-day statement
MT941/942 camt.052 Intra-day statement (during the day)
MT900/910 camt.054 Confirmation of credit/debit of the account
MT192 camt.056 Client's request to cancel a payment
4. Management and exceptions MT103/202 ret pacs.004 Return of payment (e.g., due to incorrect data. This is a new, dedicated message for handling returns, much more structured than previous methods)
– pacs.002 Payment status report (new message informing, e.g., about payment rejection)

Timeline of changes

The migration to the ISO 20022 standard is a process spread over years. To give you a full picture of the transformation, the table below presents the key milestones – both those that have already taken place and those that are still ahead of us.

Date Payment system Description of change
March 2023 SWIFT Start of the transition period. Banks worldwide are obliged to receive messages in MX format.
September 2025 SORBNET Migration of the system to a new platform operating based on the ISO 20022 standard.
November 2025 SWIFT End of the transition period. MT messages from groups 1xx and 2xx are withdrawn. The MX format becomes mandatory in interbank communication.
November 2026 SWIFT / SEPA / SORBNET Introduction of a new version of the MX standard. The key change is the withdrawal of support for the unstructured address.
2027 (plan) Elixir Planned implementation of the first version of the system based on XML messages (not yet fully compliant with ISO 20022).
After 2027 (plan) Elixir Planned implementation of full compliance with the ISO 20022 standard.
Future Express Elixir Possible changes (Express Elixir is not currently covered by the ISO 20022 migration plan).
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