ISO 20022 in Canada: How a Global Messaging Standard Is Transforming Traditional and Blockchain Payments

ISO 20022 has been on many financial institutions’ radar these past years, capturing in parallel the attention of the crypto community in Canada and beyond. Just last year, the SWIFT network completed a migration period of over two years from their previous payment messaging format to ISO 20022. Now, SWIFT is reported to be testing blockchain payments in collaboration with Ant International and HSBC using this new messaging standard.

What does that mean? How do financial institutions and crypto projects use ISO 20022 in Canada? What are ISO 20022 coins? Keep reading for the full breakdown.

In Sum

• ISO 20022 is a global payment messaging standard that standardizes how financial institutions structure and exchange payments data, enabling richer and more interoperable messages.
• Its adoption improves cross-border and domestic payments by increasing available remittance data, strengthening compliance and reducing reconciliation delays.
• In Canada, Payments Canada is driving implementation across systems like Lynx, with further expansion planned for automated transfers and the upcoming Real-Time Rail.
• “ISO 20022 coins” are not truly “compliant” (since the standard governs messaging, not tokens) but may be compatible when their network infrastructure aligns with ISO 20022 messaging.

What is ISO 20022?

ISO 20022, of the International Organization for Standardization, is a payment messaging standard, unifying across domestic and international systems the structure of financial data exchanged between an institution and another.

The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) connects experts around the globe to create and publish standards for greater cooperation and efficiency. Where disconnected and disparate processes slow down progress, standardization allows for consistency, interoperability and shared best practices between adherents.

This is precisely the goal of ISO 20022: harmonizing financial messaging in order to encourage interoperability and facilitate cross-border payments. Furthermore, adopting ISO 20022 in Canada or beyond dramatically increases the number of data points banks can send and receive with each payment, from approximately 100 to nearly 9,000 characters. Richer messages enable stronger compliance work and procedure, reduce delay with easier reconciliation as well as allow for faster payments.

International Payments

Harmonizing the use of ISO 20022 will significantly improve cross-border payments, with the G20 identifying fragmentation of payment messaging standards as a current cause of friction in global money flows.

Domestic Payments

Using ISO 20022 and the enhanced data this standard introduces is a milestone change in how the industry sends and processes payments data. It provides a world of richer, structured data for payment users whether domestic or international. The UK’s institutions are advancing on adoption, and implementing ISO 20022 in Canada is also underway, as we will see in a subsequent section.

Blockchain Payments

Crypto companies are starting to align with this standard as well. Many see ISO 20022 implementation as a way to facilitate future integration with traditional financial institutions as cryptocurrencies and blockchain payment become more mainstream. 

The SWIFT Case

SWIFT network institutions are required from November 2025 to use ISO 20022 messaging, completing an over 2 year long migration period from its previously used MT format. As the largest international payment network, this is significant: it means almost all cross-border bank-to-bank payment instructions will share the common language of ISO 20022, bringing about a new era of efficiency for international payments.

SWIFT, in partnership with HSBC and Ant International, a fintech company leveraging blockchain technology, have successfully connected Ant's blockchain infrastructure to Swift's network, allowing via HSBC’s tokenised deposit services using ISO 20022. Eventually, digital money issuers could use the financial messaging standard and Swift's network to simplify adoption by banks and clients, enhancing interoperability while limiting sources of friction.

ISO 20022 in Canada

ISO 20022 does not only serve international payments. It also has the potential to improve domestic payments across government institutions and businesses alike. Notably, with a unified standard, payments will be cleared and settled faster and more efficiently than ever and will each include more detailed remittance information, facilitating compliance work for high-value transfers.

Payments Canada, under the Bank of Canada, is leading the transition to ISO 20022 messaging standards between members of its network.

Lynx & Efficient Wires

Currently, many domestic payment systems have already implemented ISO 20022 in Canada. Lynx, Canada’s interbank electronic wire system for large transactions, for example, has fully transitioned to ISO 20022 financial message standard.

Implementing ISO 20022 ensures Canadian systems can support smoother, more efficient fund transfers while signaling that our financial institutions are committed to innovation. By reducing reliance on manual processes and legacy technology, Canada can position itself to adapt to the next phase of financial system modernization. It also puts Canada in line with SWIFT’s global initiative.

Now that Lynx has adopted ISO 20022 for wire payments, Canadian businesses and governments can include much more detailed remittance information in high-value CAD transfers between banks, making domestic wire payments far more informative and efficient than before.

Automatic Funds Transfer

For batch payments like payroll processed through the Automated Clearing Settlement System, financial institutions have used ISO 20022 in Canada on a voluntary basis. The next step of the implementation project is to mandate it for automatic funds transfer across the Payments Canada network.

Real-time Rail Payment System

The Real-time Rail is being created with ISO 20022 payment messages capabilities built-in, enabling 24/7 payments across financial institutions in the country. When a real-time payment is initiated, the system will exchange a data rich payment message between the sending and receiving financial institutions.

Compliant or Compatible: The Distinction

You might have seen some crypto coins and tokens featured on ISO 20022 compliant lists, but that language is a bit imprecise.

Indeed, ISO 20022 is a messaging standard for payment instructions, so digital assets cannot be “ISO 20022”-compliant, in the sense that by their very nature, they cannot reach the standard for payment messaging. Instead, they can be compatible with the messaging standards. In sum, the network infrastructure, not the token, is designed to align with ISO 20022 standards.

Furthermore, ISO 20022 does not include a formal certification regime, making the notion of being “compliant” a misleading way to characterize adoption. Instead, there is a Standards Body of which member organizations with interest in promoting ISO 20022 oversee the maintenance, governance and development of the ISO 20022 financial messaging standard.

Members ensure all proposals for new message standards and changes follow proper governance and that the standard remains consistent and interoperable worldwide. This does not however equate certification.

The Relevance of ISO 20022 for Crypto

Why then do we see ISO 20022 and crypto projects mentioned in tandem so often? Many crypto networks are designing their infrastructure to align itself with ISO 20022 standards. This has the potential to facilitate integration between decentralized and traditional finance. 

Known as “ISO 20022 coins”, their synchronisation with global trends of traditional finance gives them great potential of integrating with these existing financial systems.

EZO

The adoption of ISO 20022 reflects a broader institutional shift in how value moves across financial systems. In parallel, demand for reliable, discreet crypto execution continues to grow. EZO provides OTC services for crypto purchases, sales and swaps, supporting clients operating at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets. Contact our team today!

In our next article, we’ll take a look at coins, tokens and crypto projects compatible with ISO 20022 in Canada.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is ISO 20022?

ISO 20022 is a global financial messaging standard that defines how payment and transaction data is structured and exchanged between financial institutions.

Why is ISO 20022 important?

It enables richer, standardized data in payments, improving interoperability, compliance, reconciliation and the speed of both domestic and cross-border transactions.

What does “ISO 20022 compatible” mean for crypto projects?‍

It means the project’s network or messaging layer is designed to integrate with ISO 20022-based financial systems, facilitating potential interaction with traditional finance.