In less than a year, a new bank data standard, ISO 20022, should enable better cash forecasting, enhanced receivables automation, and improve matching rates and reconciliations – all great news for treasury professionals.
The bad news is that many banks are not on pace to meet the March 2025 implementation deadline, according to a recent survey by financial technology research and advisory firm Celent. And because most large companies use multiple banks, the likelihood that at least some of your banks will be delayed in switching to the ISO 20022 standard is now considered likely.
According to Celent: “A significant proportion [of banks] won’t be ready by the final deadline. Even then, given the approaches that some banks have taken, even those who believe they will be ready, won’t be as ready as they need to be.”
In an interview with CMLI, a spokesperson for the ISO standard explained: “The reason that the migration has been slow is that some banks’ legacy systems are just so entrenched in their operations that unwinding it all and moving to this new standard is a protracted process under the best of circumstances.”
Highlights from the Celent survey:
Just 7 in 10 large corporates were confident their banks will be ready. In fact, less than two in 10 large businesses (those generating revenue of more than $15 billion annually) say their primary bank have yet to make any announcement about the data migration.
