ISO 20022 is the new international standard for electronic data exchanges in the finance industry. It is assuming an increasingly key role worldwide, in Europe and thus in Switzerland. ISO 20022 influences all domestic and international payments.

The standardization and harmonization of the payment transaction processes program will be carried out according to the implementation plan defined by the Swiss financial center.

The variety of current payment instruments is reduced, standardized and simplified. Harmonization and standardization enable simpler payment processes with improved processing quality for all market participants in Switzerland.

The schemes are standardized and harmonized in four Swiss payments areas: Credit transfers, direct debits, notifications/reporting and payment slips.