Janice Ong is vice president of payments experience at United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) (Off-site). UNFCU serves the staff, retirees and family members of the United Nations community through a mission of “serving the people who serve the world.”® We spoke with Janice to discuss UNFCU’s progress with the ISO 20022 migration for the Fedwire® Funds Service and how the company is preparing for the March 10, 2025 deadline.
Q: Why is the ISO 20022 migration so important to financial institutions?
A: This is a very exciting global movement for the unification of payments and for our credit union, as we are committed to providing financial peace of mind to our members around the world. The ISO 20022 standard can benefit all organizations and in turn, members and customers, from a risk management, fraud, payment operations and efficiency standpoint. This is because the new standard provides richer, more consistent data and transparency.
Since Europe and other regions are already well ahead of the U.S., switching to the ISO 20022 format can enable financial institutions to continue to innovate and remain competitive with other global financial institutions. If an institution is not ready to use the ISO 20022-formatted messages by March 10, 2025, they will run into some level of risk for non-compliance. Staying focused on this work, while continuing to serve members or for banks, their customers, is key to a successful transition.
Q: How has your preparation been going so far?
A: While it may initially have seemed a bit overwhelming, our team understood the urgency of this initiative. We therefore made ISO 20022 a high priority. We considered outsourcing to a fintech vendor to assist us with our migration, but soon realized we had the capability to manage the transition ourselves.
We studied the helpful resources the Federal Reserve made available, scoped the project and planned each aspect of the transition. To date, we have made strong progress and are ready to start testing.
Q: How did UNFCU begin planning for the migration?
A: After we completed the work to transition over to tag {8200}, we created a task force to handle the ISO 20022 transition. This dedicated group comprises two members of our Global Payments Operations team and two members of our Information Technology team.
As the project evolves, we will expand its scope to involve the broader organization, namely the accounting, operations and compliance teams. We also will train our own payments staff to ensure a smooth transition. I can’t stress enough that everyone in every department needs to understand the impact of ISO 20022 and related changes to the messaging format.
Q: Which resources from the Federal Reserve have been most helpful to you in this transition?
A: Having a wealth of go-to tools from the Federal Reserve to assist us in transitioning to the ISO 20022 format has been great. Moreover, the Federal Reserve’s open-door approach has enabled us to validate what we are doing and stay on the right track.
We attended the Fed’s in-person workshop in New York last October, where we met the Fedwire team. Webinars and drop-in sessions that the Federal Reserve has hosted over the past one-and-a-half years have given us the opportunity to learn more and obtain answers directly from the Fedwire team. My colleagues and I also benefited from the monthly On The Wire newsletters, informational content from the implementation center, and the Quick Reference Guides on MyStandards®.
Q: What advice do you give to other financial institutions that are transitioning to the ISO 20022 format?
A: When selecting your institution’s ISO 20022 team, first form a dedicated unit that can prioritize reaching the goal while also meeting their other service objectives and deliverables. I am privileged to have a project team that recognizes the importance of this migration, as well as leadership’s full support. I am extremely impressed by our team. Despite the other priorities, day-to-day operations and longer-term projects we have here at UNFCU, they are able to make progress on the ISO 20022 project and expand their knowledge and expertise.
Secondly, take advantage of the ISO 20022 resources available to you, not only from the Federal Reserve but also, through industry networking with the U.S. ISO 20022 community. Having the opportunity to talk about challenges and best practices, as well as share learnings and resources, can help you navigate the transition. Thirdly, remember to document everything you have learned so that you can build a library of staff training materials. Last but certainly not least, encourage staff to participate in industry events and Federal Reserve webinars on ISO 20022. Preparation is central to this effort and will allow you to best serve your members’ or customers’ needs.
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