International standard for electronic communication in financial systems

Please read the newsletter. It outlines the upcoming changes and the required actions for your organzation.

 Newsletter 2026 - ISO 20022 for Corporatesdownload Newsletter Opens in a new window.

First stage of migration: completed

The first stage took place in March 2023. Payment messages for cross-border and high-value transfers used in the TARGET2 settlement system were migrated to the XML_ISO20022 standard. TARGET2 is a pan-European real-time settlement system for EUR, involving European central and commercial banks. This stage concerned only interbank communication and did not affect bank Customers.

Second stage: global migration

November 2025

• Key MT payment messages in groups 1 (MT102, MT103) and 2 (MT202, MT202COV) were withdrawn from the global interbank area.
• They were replaced by the new XML_ISO20022 formats: pacs.008 and pacs.009.

November 2026

• SWIFT will withdraw MT101 messages and they will be replaced with the new formats: XML_ISO20022 pain.001
• Payers will still be able to send individual MT101 messages and use their paid conversion by SWIFT into the XML_ISO20022 pain.001 format (using MT101 in the so-called multiplied version, that is multiple messages in one instruction, will not longer be possible).
• The use of structured addresses for payment participants in commercial transfers will be made mandatory. Thanks to this change, address details will be structured and highly detailed, ensuring unambiguous and error-free identification of participants. 

Structured addresses in ISO20022

As at present, we will:

• automatically download your data (i.e. the data of the transfer payer) from our systems,
• place them in a transfer, in an orderly manner and in accordance with the XML_ISO20022 standard.
  Transfers to countries in the European Economic Area (EEA) will be accepted without providing the payee's address. These rules will continue to apply.
• If the payee's address is provided in the EEA transfer, the payment must include at least the name of the payee's city and country of residence, which will be converted to an ISO code in the payment message.

Change in transfers to countries outside the EEA

• For transfers that require the payee's address, three address formats are accepted until 15 November 2026: unstructured, semi-structured (so-called hybrid address) and structured.
• After 15 November 2026, we will no longer be able to process payments to countries outside the EEA that contain unstructured counterparty addresses. Such transfers will be rejected by the SWIFT network and settlement systems.
• Migration to the XML_ISO 20022 standard requires the address data you provide in payment instructions to be more precise and organised. A structured address makes it possible.
• We encourage you to use the new standard as more and more non-EEA banks now require to provide this information. Its absence may cause delays in the execution of payments and generate additional costs of the payee’s bank.

Changes already in place

A fully structured format of the transaction participant has been available since 2023. It contains only defined fields that are arranged in the payment message in a fixed way and according to a strict pattern (ISO20022 structure).

Since November 2025, a new, semi-structured format for the postal address, the so-called hybrid address, has also been available. This format contains some structured address fields, i.e. at least the name of the city and country of residence of the participant in the payment transaction.

Postal address mapping to structured address formula

Note:

As a payer, you have the data of your counterparties.

By 15 November 2026, you must ensure that counterparties' addresses used in payment orders are provided in a fully structured or at least semi-structured, i.e. hybrid, format.

• This applies to the following participants in the payment chain to countries outside the EEA:
  • payee
  • actual payer/final payee (if applicable)
  • related acquirers (in the absence of BIC).
• In instructions sent using the MT101/pain.001 instruction for transfers by other banks where your accounts are maintained, the provision of structured or at least partially structured (hybrid) data also applies to data concerning the payer, i.e. data directly related to you.

What comes next (SWIFT 2027, 2028)

What does the migration process look like in Poland?

• Migration to the XML_ISO20022 format is taking place in parallel in Polish settlement systems.
• In September 2025, the Polish Sorbnet3 system was migrated.
• This is Poland’s real-time interbank settlement system for PLN.
• In 2027, the Polish Elixir system is expected to migrate to the XML_ ISO20022 standard.

Since 2022, BNP Paribas Bank Polska has been preparing and adapting its systems and teams for SWIFT communication in the XML_ISO20022 standard. We can already receive the new XML formats, which we are converting into the MT format for operational purposes.

Since when does the bank send XML_ISO20022 messages?

• In September 2025, we sent first XML_ISO20022 messages to the SWIFT network, as part of the Sorbnet3 migration.
• The bank's transition exclusively to new XML_ISO20022 formats in SWIFT communication with external systems will take place in accordance with the stages of XML_ISO20022 migration planned by SWIFT.

In parallel with preparations for communication with external settlement systems, we are also working on adapting local systems and applications for Customer use, with the most advanced work in our bank being carried out in the GOonline Biznes online banking.

What is already in place?

A new XML_ISO20022-compliant camt.053 report (bank statement) template is now available.

What are we preparing?

The international transfer form, the RPI (Remote Payment Initiation) Transfer and importing files with international transactions will follow.

What remains unchanged?

• The adoption of XML_ISO 20022 in the interbank area will not change Customer-bank-Customer communication at BNP Paribas Bank Polska.
• If you currently communicate with the bank using the MT101 format, e.g. to initiate payments to be executed by the bank, you will be able to continue doing so (SWIFT will allow for a conversion).
• In our bank's electronic banking, you will still have access to the "old" MT940 statement formats.
• Transfer forms for settlements in external systems communicating exclusively in the XML_ISO20022 standard will allow you to submit payment instructions in the same way as before the migration.
• The filling in of the transfer form in terms of data and mandatory information will not change, despite the significantly increased capacity and content of XML_ISO20022 message fields. In line with the scope of the migration for 2026 and the introduction of the obligation to use structured or semi-structured (hybrid) addresses of participants in payment transactions, we will only ask for more detailed data that relate to the payees of your transfers to countries outside the EEA.

Main purpose of migration to the new standard

This aims to eliminate problems caused by, among others, differing financial communication standards. The MT formats do not provide sufficient space to include all mandatory and regulatory information, such as the structured address of a payee.

How to use the new standard

Financial institutions and payment service providers (PSPs) are expected to use exclusively the new XML_ISO20022 standards relatively fast.
Therefore, to take advantage of the enriched communication data in payment transactions, you need to adapt your systems and migrate to the new standards as soon as possible.

• It is worth familiarising yourself with the details of the new XML_ISO20022 standards and paying attention to the structure of the messages that may first be handled on your side.
• Then, you should develop a migration plan tailored to your needs and expectations, taking into account the testing phase.
• When planning migration, you need to decide what accession formula to choose. Whether it is the “big bang” approach, i.e. making all the necessary changes to your systems and a one-off switching to XML_ISO20022 to initiate payments and receive statements.
• Alternatively, you may wish to make only the necessary changes to your infrastructure, i.e. adaptation to receive camt.053 (camt.052) statements, the equivalent of MT94x messages. At a later stage, you can start sending payment instructions using pain.001 (which will replace MT101).

Note

Regardless of the timeline you choose, we are committed to working closely with you throughout the transition process. Our aim is to ensure that your systems are well prepared to migrate to XML_ISO20022.

Migration to the XML_ISO20022 formats has already begun and will be neither stopped nor cancelled. While implementation dates for certain message types can be postponed or migration timelines for selected systems can be changed, the replacement of the MT standards with XML_ISO20022 is certain. This migration is necessitated by ongoing changes in financial settlements.

We encourage you to familiarise yourself with the material available in the new formats section.

Note

Please take your migration plan very seriously.
It must align with the overall timeline, while also addressing your specific needs and expectations.

Please refer to the SWIFT MT standards and the XML_ISO20022 standards replacing them, available in the SWIFT documentation and website resources (source: www.swift.com [login required]):

Otwiera się w nowym oknie.

MT1xx vs pacs.008 and pain.001

MT2xx vs pacs.009 and pacs.009COV 

MT9xx vs camt.052 and camt.053