CBA supports IBAS user banks with successful cutover to ISO 20022

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.

Transitioning to updated security standards

Officials from CBA commented that the transition to ISO 20022 messaging for cross-border payments has been a huge undertaking for the banking industry. They’re happy that all their user banks were able to seamlessly transition to using the new standard, as it’s clear that many banks have yet to make the switch – particularly those that are reliant on legacy technology.

CBA’s representatives added that banks shouldn’t invest significant amounts of money to resolve this issue, as the implementation of IBAS GBF has been smooth for their user banks, which are now capable of handling various message types and seamlessly interface with downstream systems for payment processing. This allows them to offer enhanced ISO 20022 payment types to corporate customers, providing additional transaction details for easier reconciliation. Furthermore, it simplifies tracking funds and enables banks to access supplementary information to strengthen 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-19 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 important banks ensure all relevant systems are aligned.

What does CBA do?

Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, CBA provides sophisticated banking software that brings efficiency to complex global banking operations. CBA’s IBAS GBF – Global Banking Factory is a modern, open, flexible software platform, designed to streamline and automate end-to-end banking processes. Based on a microservices architecture that’s optimised for the cloud, IBAS encompasses reusable components for handling payments, trade finance, loans and financing, factoring and invoice financing, and account management.