On July 5, 2018, the U.S. Federal Reserve Board published a notice of proposed service enhancement and request for comment with respect to adopting the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 20022 message format for the Fedwire Funds Service. The new format would replace the service's current proprietary message format. The proposal notes that the decision to implement the ISO 20022 message format standard is the result of a multi-year process, where the Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Federal Reserve Banks sought input from a number of stakeholders and industry participants, including The Clearing House Payments Company, which owns and operates the other main large-value payment system in the United States. The Federal Reserve Banks have also performed extensive public outreach on this topic, including the formation of advisory groups, the distribution of customer surveys, and the preparation of educational materials regarding the ISO 20022 standard. The proposal suggests that switching to the ISO 20022 standard may result in a number of benefits, including a richer and more structured message format, improved domestic and cross-border interoperability and the ability for financial institutions to provide additional services to customers. The proposal notes that the implementation of the ISO 20022 standard will consist of three phases, with a target final implementation date of November 2023. Comments to the proposal are due by September 4, 2018.
The full text of the Federal Reserve Board proposal is available at: https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/files/other20180705a1.pdf.
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