ISO 20022 migration -
The new standard in payment transactions
What companies need to consider in the future with electronic bank statements and payment processes
The migration to ISO 20022 is one of the most significant changes in the financial sector in recent decades. It not only affects banks and financial institutions, but also companies that need to adapt their SAP systems to comply with the new standards. This blog post looks at the impact of migration on SAP systems, particularly in the areas of electronic bank statements and payment processing.
What is ISO 20022?
ISO 20022 is an international standard for financial messages that enables uniform and structured data transmission. It offers:
• Global interoperability: standardized formats for cross-border payments.
• Comprehensive data: More detail in payment and account data.
• Greater efficiency: Improved automation and faster processing.
Specifically, this affects electronic bank statements and the processing of payment processes. Let’s take a look at the impact on these processes.
Effects on electronic bank statements
The changeover to ISO 20022 will bring significant changes to electronic bank statements. From November 2025, the MT940 format used until now will finally be replaced by the CAMT format – an international standard that guarantees efficiency, transparency and future-proofing.
The change from MT940 to CAMT brings numerous improvements:
• Standardization: The international standardization of the codes creates a uniform format for all countries.
• Structure & transparency: The CAMT format is based on the XML markup language, which means that data is presented in a hierarchical and structured manner. This enables both machine and manual readability.
• Future-proof & flexibility: The format can be expanded and allows all relevant booking information to be included.
For companies, the changeover is primarily of a technical nature. Existing posting rules, interpretation algorithms and account schemes can largely be adopted from the MT940 format. However, there is one crucial change:
The three-digit business transaction code (GVC) is replaced by the alphabetical ISO Bank Transaction Code. This change requires an adjustment in the SAP system.
Effects on payment processes
The payment processes will also be changed by the introduction of the ISO 20022 message formats. The new pain.001.001.09 and pain.002.001.10 formats will replace the existing pain.001.001.03 and pain.002.001.03 formats. The final changeover to the new formats will take place by November 2026. These new formats offer extensive details on payments, such as ordering party and recipient data, specific payment instructions and an end-to-end reference for traceability.
The switch to the new pain formats offers companies the following added value:
• Standardization and interoperability: The pain format is based on ISO 20022 and offers a uniform structure for payment orders (pain.001) and status messages (pain.002). This facilitates communication between banks and companies as well as integration into SAP systems.
• Increased data quality: The structured presentation of payment data, including ordering party and recipient information, improves data quality.
• Flexibility for payment instructions: New fields in pain.001 format enable additional payment instructions, such as payment notes or specific deductions, which can be processed automatically.
Technical adjustments may be necessary as part of the changeover – depending on the status of the last format version implemented in your SAP system and whether you are using SAP ECC or S/4HANA.
The necessary changes include adapting the format trees to support the new XML structures. In addition, structured address fields, which were previously optional or unstructured, must be completed in future. It should also be noted that banks also have their own strategies for implementing ISO 20022, which means that specific adaptations may be necessary for each bank.
Our offer for a smooth changeover
To ensure that your SAP system is optimally prepared for the new formats, we support you with the following measures:
Analysis
Conversion
As part of the conversion, we integrate the new pain and CAMT formats into your system environment. This involves mapping all relevant GVC codes to the corresponding ISO transaction codes in the electronic account statement. We also professionally implement all requirements for the new XML structures for the payment processes.
