From MT to MX: The Final Countdown

Coming, ready or not ISO 20022 SWIFT Compliance Deadline

Just 94 days to go (as at 20 August 2025)

The 22 November 2025 SWIFT ISO deadline is coming fast.

ISO 20022, the globally accepted format, enhances the quality and structure of financial messages. It provides rich data with each transaction, enabling enhanced analytics, status tracking, sanction checking, and automated invoice reconciliation. This improves the experience for end customers.

The coexistence period for Swift MT and MX messages ends soon—and there’s no room for delay.

Banks and financial institutions must act now to ensure compliance, avoid disruption, and stay ahead of regulatory expectations.

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Coming, ready or not ISO 20022 SWIFT Compliance Deadline

The coexistence phase—where SWIFT allowed both legacy MT message formats (like MT 103, MT 202, etc.) and the newer ISO 20022 MX formats to be used ends on the 22 November 2025.

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After 22 November 2025

MT message types used for cross-border FI-to-FI payments will no longer be supported on the SWIFT FIN network

Any MT messages that remain in use will either be rejected (NAK’ed) or only allowed through contingency processing, which comes with stricter validation and often additional charges.

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Why It's a Big Deal

ISO 20022, the globally accepted format, enhances the quality and structure of financial messages by providing rich data with each transaction. It enables better analytics, status tracking, sanction checking, and automated invoice reconciliation, thus improving operational efficiency for financial institutions and delivering a better experience for end customers.

ISO 20022 is central to every conversation we have around financial messaging due to its impact on cross-border payments and its use in real-time transactions globally. Its rich, structured data improves visibility and supports true interoperability in a global economy.

Operational Risk & Disruption

Institutions still sending legacy MT messages risk having their payments rejected or delayed, potentially causing serious continuity problems

Financial Impact

SWIFT plans to charge for translation services and contingency processing. Institutions with high volumes of MT traffic (over 15,000 messages per month) may face complex and costly arrangements

Need for Richer Data & Compliance

ISO 20022 brings structured, data-rich messages in XML format—supporting better automation, compliance, AML screening, and reconciliation

Global Regulatory Convergence

Other systems—like TARGET2 (Eurozone) and U.S. Fedwire have already transitioned.

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Contingency & Transitional Measures

SWIFT is offering temporary support to ease the transition—but it's not a long-term solution:

Contingency Processing for MT Senders

Messages that pass strict validation may be automatically converted to MX and forwarded—but this is a paid, temporary service and only applies to certain high-priority MT message types

In-Flow Translation for Receivers

ISO 20022 messages sent to FI receivers may embed an MT equivalent. This allowed backward compatibility—but from January 2026, this will become a chargeable service

Phased Deprecation

Some MT categories—such as reporting, statements, exception/investigation messages—will continue to be supported for now but are deprecated and scheduled for later migration or conversion via new systems like SWIFT’s Case Manager

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Your Institution Should

• Finish migration to ISO 20022 MX messaging as soon as possible.

• Upgrade systems (back-end, compliance tools, data engines, messaging pipelines) for full MX readiness.

• Test extensively—including contingency paths and validation logic—with partners and in SWIFT’s test environments

• Engage stakeholders: internal teams, vendors, counterparties—everyone needs to be ready

• Budget for charges, but don’t rely on translation services as a long-term strategy.

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TL;DR

• 22 November 2025: MT messages for cross-border payments are effectively retired or penalised.

• ISO 20022 MX is the mandatory standard going forward.

• Transition costs and operational risks rise sharply post-deadline.

• Migration now = smoother, cheaper, compliant.

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Message Transformation and Enrichment

Manage your message transformation needs in one place, and effortlessly meet ISO 20022 deadlines with our integrated, intelligent data transformation and workflow engine. Create and maintain custom mappings in a graphical user interface.