Context:
India’s top private banks are behind schedule in migrating to the SWIFT ISO 20022 cross-border payments messaging standard, with only State Bank of India (SBI) having fully transitioned.
Current Status
- Global adoption of ISO 20022 stands at 43%, but India trails significantly.
- Only SBI is compliant; four other banks have partially migrated.
- The November 2025 deadline is considered final, with no further extensions likely.
Risks of Non-Compliance
- Banks risk payment disruptions, penalties, and operational bottlenecks post-deadline.
- SWIFT emphasizes timely migration to ensure uninterrupted cross-border transactions.
Benefits of ISO 20022
- Enables richer, structured, and granular data in payments.
- Improves analytics, compliance, fraud detection, and automation.
- Reduces manual intervention and enhances operational efficiency.
Challenges in India
- Migration slowed by the need to overhaul legacy core banking systems.
- Despite discussions with SWIFT, most private banks are behind schedule.
