Norwegian software vendor Commercial Banking Applications AS (CBA), today confirmed that the latest version of its IBAS GBF – Global Banking Factory solution – is successfully in production at all user banks, ensuring full compliance with the new SWIFT ISO 20022 message standard for cross-border payments and reporting (CBPR+).

The March 2023 cutover date marked the start of a co-existence period, with banks needing to be able to receive the new SWIFT MX messages, which comply with the new ISO 20022 standard, as well as continuing to receive MT messages. Migration to the ISO 20022 message standard is initially optional but will be mandatory after November 2025.

“The transition to ISO 20022 messaging for cross-border payments has been a huge undertaking for the banking industry,” explained Rolf Hauge, CEO and founder, CBA. “We’re delighted that all our user banks were able to transition to using the new standard without a hitch on day one, as it’s clear that many banks have yet to make the switch – particularly those that are reliant on legacy technology.”

“Banks shouldn’t have to invest millions of dollars to resolve this issue,” said Hauge. “The roll-out of IBAS GBF has been straightforward. All our user banks are now equipped to handle any eventuality – in terms of receiving and processing both MX and MT message types, and in interfacing seamlessly with any downstream systems involved in processing or initiating payments. This means they can start sharing the benefits of the richer ISO 20022 payment types with corporate customers, including additional details about the transaction, the payee and the beneficiary, making it easier to reconcile transactions. It also becomes much simpler to follow the money and for banks to avail of additional information in support of anti-money laundering and sanction controls.”

The move to ISO 20022 standard was originally scheduled by SWIFT for 2020, but was delayed several times due to Covid and also a lack of bank readiness. The new MX standard applies to SWIFT messages concerning domestic, Automated Clearing House (ACH), real-time, high-value and cross-border payments, so it is paramount banks ensure all relevant systems are aligned.

Commenting on the transition, Árni Davíð Skúlason, Head of Foreign Payments and Trade Finance at Arion Bank said: “CBA worked very closely with our team to ensure a smooth roll-out of the new IBAS GBF release ensuring we were ready for the introduction of the new SWIFT ISO 20022 message standard on day one. It’s interesting to note that the vast majority of the messages we are receiving from partner banks are still in MT format – but using IBAS we are ideally placed to process all message types in a fully automated way, with no need for any manual workarounds. We’re also in a strong position to share new value-added insights with customers as users start to avail of the new richer ISO 20022 data formats.”