Real-Time Payments May Get New Standards

The ISO Real-Time Payments Group (RTPG), which comprises over 50 global experts under the guidance of trade body Payments UK, reached a milestone yesterday (Aug. 10) by publishing the first draft of synchronized standards for cross-border real-time payments, Finextra reported.

The draft of ISO 20022 messaging standards for international payments is now under review. The standards focus on assisting countries with domestic implementation as well as guaranteeing interoperability between systems.

As of now, 18 countries are live with a working model of payments messaging services that meet the standard, 12 countries are ‘‘exploring/planning/ building” and an added block of 17 countries are “exploring through a pan-Eurozone initiative,” the latest issue of the ISO 20022 newsletter stated.

“In the short-term we believe these efforts will have a tremendous industry impact with multi-national companies, who can use the same formats and procedures across their operations. In the long-term this effort provides the foundation for international interoperability among real-time payments systems,” said Irfan Ahmad, vice president, product development and strategy at The Clearing House.

While the initial draft of ISO 20022 real-time payments standards is available for review and comment, the RTPG is scheduled to meet again in October to brief the industry on its progress at the international Swift banking conference, SIBOS, in Singapore.

“This international committee will drive greater efficiency in cross-border and domestic payments. The resulting message set will be leveraged by the CPA in its own modernization initiative to better meet the needs of those who depend upon Canada’s payments system,” said Doug Kreviazuk, next generation clearing and settlement vice president of the Canadian Payments Association.



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