This guide is intended for treasurers and ERP departments preparing for the upcoming changes resulting from the ISO 20022 migration and, ideally, seeking to achieve process improvements within Treasury at the same time. The ISO 20022 migration refers to the global transition to the ISO 20022 standard for bank statements and payment/direct debit transactions, effective from November 2026.

The guide explains:

• the key fundamentals,
• the functional implications,
• the associated timelines,
• which processes are affected,
• what a migration plan may look like, and
• the specific benefits enabled by the migration.

The following processes are covered:

• Master data maintenance
• Retrieval and processing of bank statements
• Execution of payments and direct debits
• Status inquiries for payments and direct debits

In addition to the Treasury-related implications, the guide also addresses impacts on accounting systems and provides recommendations on how these changes can be communicated to internal IT departments, (international) subsidiaries, and system providers. To support IT departments, the relevant information sources are included. The effects on master data within ERP systems are also relevant to the migration and are therefore discussed.

The guide further explains the topic of Verification of Payee (VoP), as there is a direct connection to the ISO migration through the required master data maintenance and payment order types.

As a working assumption, this guide considers that every company will be affected by the ISO migration, although the specific “day X” may differ depending on business requirements, banking relationships, and system environments. The guide helps organizations determine this point in time more precisely and, based on this, estimate the lead time required for the necessary migration activities.

We would like to thank the contributors of the “Format Migration” working group within the Cash & Liquidity Committee.

Die deutsche Fassung finden Sie unter diesem Link.

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Please note that this is therefore a machine translation, which may deviate from customary professional or linguistic standards, particularly with regard to technical terminology, industry-specific expressions, or linguistic nuances.

The Verband Deutscher Treasurer e.V. assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or precision of the translation and cannot be held liable for any misunderstandings or errors arising from the use of this English version.