Finastra Boosts Its Payments Processing Strategy with Fed Certification for ISO 20022

Finastra, a global provider of financial software applications and marketplaces, today announced it has completed testing and certification through the Federal Reserve for ISO 20022, becoming one of the first vendors in the industry to complete the process for multiple solutions. The certification, which enables and supports compliance to ISO 20022 messaging standards for Fedwire, applies to four of Finastra’s payment processing solutions, facilitating increased innovation for financial institutions across the United States. By certifying Payments To Go, Global PAYplus, PAYplus USA, and PAYplus Connect, Finastra offers multiple solutions for financial institutions large and small to meet the standards for FedWire. To comply with ISO 20022 compliance standards, financial institutions must complete their own testing before the end of 2024, underscoring the importance of selecting a payment processor with the needed technology. “Quickly and efficiently adopting the standards for ISO 20022 is simply a necessity, and it is important that we provide financial institutions with the tools they need to embrace these standards,” said Barry Rodrigues, EVP of Finastra’s Payments Business Unit. “With our many years of experience innovating in the payments space across the globe, our customers know they can rely on us to enable them meet the evolving regulatory and compliance requirements and unlock new opportunities to drive payments innovation and enhance business value for their customers.” ISO 20022 is a universal financial industry messaging standard that can carry a considerable amount of information and is based on a common data dictionary that can support payment message flows between financial institutions, their clients, and domestic and international market infrastructures. Adoption of ISO 20022 will align the Fedwire Funds Service message format with a global standard that improves payment processing efficiency. Finastra’s ISO 20022-native payment solutions not only support compliance, but also enable financial institutions to boost payment processing automation, improve fraud risk management, operational efficiencies, and customer experience. Erika Baumann, director, commercial banking and payments at Datos Insights, said, “Compliance with ISO 20022 messaging standards for Fedwire ensures efficiency, data quality, and alignment with global best practices in financial messaging, so it’s a must for software providers and financial institutions across the US. By aligning with this global standard, banks and credit unions are well-positioned to improve their payment processing and promote interoperability worldwide.”