March 2025: On the Wire - ISO® 20022 Newsletter
Stay on track for the July 14, 2025, ISO® 20022 go-live
We are approximately four months away from the new July 14 migration date. To ensure your organization is prepared and ready, we highly recommend the following:
- All customers test on Tuesdays and Thursdays to mimic sending production-like traffic in ISO 20022 message formats in the DIT2 environment. As you conduct DIT2 testing, ensure that incoming test messages are processed normally by your downstream system (e.g., funds are credited to the appropriate party and can be processed by your compliance systems). No forms are required, and there is no need to coordinate with other institutions.
- If you want to coordinate testing with another financial institution, please sign up to join the DIT2 peer testing community, which has over 500 testing participants. Once you are signed up, you will receive a weekly email with all the testing participants so that you can directly connect with other institutions on the list to coordinate peer testing (e.g., when to test, what to test).
Important reminders for service providers
Service providers that interface with the Fedwire® Funds Service are required to:
- Lock down ISO 20022 core code as soon as possible but no later than April 25.
- Complete readiness attestations as soon as possible, if you haven’t already done so.
- Conduct peer-to-peer testing in the DIT2 environment with your hosted customers no later than May 31. Service providers can also conduct peer-to-peer testing in the production environment.
Service providers who are unable to meet the deadlines described above must provide a brief written description of how you will ensure your readiness for the July 14 migration to your relationship manager as soon as possible.
Note to financial institutions using a service provider: Failure by your service provider to meet these expectations could risk your ability to send and receive payments through the Fedwire Funds Service after the July 14 ISO 20022 migration, so be sure to talk with them and ensure you have plans in place to be ready for the migration!
Attention FedLine Advantage® users (primary or backup)
Review the following important steps to help your institution prepare for the upcoming July 14 migration:
- Attend a training to learn about the new ISO 20022 screens and features: Additional training sessions will kick off in April through the end of June and are designed specifically for customers whose roles are Funds Managers, Funds Supervisors and Funds Transfer Specialists. You will learn about the new outgoing message forms and screens and will have the opportunity to ask questions to our ISO 20022 experts. Customers with these designated roles will receive registration information via email in the coming weeks. Registrations will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Please also review the training materials available in the “Help” link within the FedPayments® Manager – Funds application.
- Attest by April 15 (if you haven’t already done so): We need your attestation that you have trained your staff to use the new ISO 20022 screens in FedLine Advantage and that your institution will be able to send/receive ISO 20022 messages beginning July 14. We recommend testing outgoing wires you send today, such as a customer credit transfer (pacs.008) or bank transfer (pacs.009). After you have sent outgoing wires and successfully completed your ISO 20022 message testing, confirm by clicking on the “Complete Attestation” button in the DIT2 test environment. Individuals with a Funds Supervisor or Funds Manager role will be able to complete the attestation on behalf of your institution.
- Prepare your entire wire ecosystem: Inventory the systems that support your entire wire operations (i.e., upstream and downstream systems), reach out to your internal software developers or vendors, and take action to ensure readiness for the ISO 20022 migration.
We are here to help you! Please contact us, your relationship manager or Wholesale Testing Services with your questions.
FRFS customer support post-migration
Please be aware that we are preparing for a large volume of customer inquiries after the migration date. If you have issues after the cutover to the ISO 20022 message format, support may be prioritized for customers that completed testing in the DIT2 environment. It is imperative that you test and train your wire operations team now.
Readiness survey coming soon
We are planning to send another survey in the April timeframe to gauge your readiness for the July 14 migration. Results from the survey will help inform the go/no go decision that will be announced no later than June 27. If you indicated to us that you were “fully ready” via the January 2025 survey, then you should not receive another survey. If you receive the survey request from the frbsurveys@chi.frb.org mailbox, please have an individual responsible for your institution’s wire operation complete and return the brief survey as soon as possible. For questions about the survey, please contact us or your relationship manager.
More drop-in sessions added
Additional drop-in sessions have been added so you can ask all your ISO 20022-related questions. To register for any of the drop-in sessions, view our ISO 20022 Education page.
More information
Please be sure to bookmark the Fedwire Funds Service ISO 20022 Implementation Center (e.g., view on-demand webinars, register for live events) so you have access to the latest information about ISO 20022. Please contact us if you have any specific questions related to this newsletter.