ISO 20022 implementation needs to pick up

John Kavanagh

A year after Australia’s High Value Clearing System adopted the ISO 20022 messaging standard, only around 40 per cent of the value of HVCS payments are being made using the new format.

The Australian Payments Network, which co-ordinated the introduction of ISO 20022, said it wants to complete the migration and is targeting 100 per cent take-up by September.

The high value payments handled by the HVCS are usually between financial institutions. Payments are settled using the Reserve Bank Informational and Transfer System (RITS) and participants hold exchange settlement accounts within RITS to manage settlements. HVCS has 50 participants.

The move to ISO 20022 allows payment messages to carry more data. AusPayNet said it will lead to improvements in process automation, interoperability and corporate customer experience.

Benefits of the new messaging standard are said to be more structured remittance information and identification of parties in the payments chain, aiding know your customer, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts, and sanctions screening.

AusPayNet said that at the first anniversary of the introduction of the standard, 50 per cent of the volume and 40 per cent of the value of HVCS payments are being made using ISO 20022 massaging. Thirty-one of the 50 HVCS participants are using the format for some or all of their high value payments.

AusPayNet’s ISO 20022 industry migration program director, Rob Magee, said some participants are yet to implement full functionality but he expects this to be done between May and September.

“We expect to see a jump in [ISO 20022 messaging] volume after May and for participants to reach 100 per cent in September,” Magee said.