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Testing for this address format change, along with enhancements to investigation messages (i.e. camt.110/camt.111) and updates to FedPayments® Manager, began in May. This testing period provides six months for Fedwire® Funds Service participants to validate system changes and update guides. Updated specifications for these upcoming changes can be found on the Fedwire® Funds Service Release 2026 page within the MyStandards portal by Swift.
Why Is Fedwire® Making This Change?
In September 2024, the Federal Reserve temporarily relaxed address requirements to support the transition to ISO 20022. This allowed financial institutions to continue using the previous Fedwire® Application Interface Manual (FAIM) address format of three rows of 35 free-text characters.
This adjustment was likely intended to ease system readiness, implementation and training challenges as the industry prepared for the original ISO 20022 Fedwire® Funds Service conversion date of March 10, 2025, which was later delayed until July 14, 2025.
For the past few months, I’ve been speaking with individuals at events across the nation and have heard the same thing over and over again: the conversion of ISO 20022 was not only to align payment messaging standards globally, but also to create greater consistency, transparency and usability of data. However, with address information potentially stored in two different locations, some financial institutions have experienced challenges when processing incoming wires, researching transactions and validating payment information.
Impact on Incoming and Outgoing Wires
For incoming wires, creditors (or beneficiaries) are having difficulty reviewing and reconciling their accounts due to difficulty verifying clients' address information. Financial institutions and businesses that receive a high volume of wires may spend additional time reviewing wire notifications, reports and transaction details to verify payment information.
Transaction research can also become more complicated when data is distributed across multiple fields. Some financial institutions have reported seeing address information entered into the remittance or other available fields rather than the designated address fields, making searches and investigations more challenging.
For outgoing international wires, the structured ISO 20022 postal code format can be especially useful versus Fedwire®’s FAIM format. Many foreign financial institutions are already accustomed to the ISO 20022 structured postal address formats. If the receiving institution can’t find address information in the expected fields, this could result in processing delays, requests for additional information or a hold on the payment until an amendment is provided.
What Should Financial Institutions Do Now?
With the November implementation approaching, now is a great time to review how your organization is entering address information for wire transactions. Consider reviewing:
- How your team currently inputs address information for outgoing wires,
- How online wire originators enter beneficiary and sender information,
- Whether your wire system populates structured ISO 20022 address fields or continues using the legacy FAIM style unstructured format and
- Whether upcoming vendor updates or system enhancements will require testing.
The Federal Reserve began testing these changes in its Depository Institution Testing (DIT2) environment in May 2026. For more information about the testing and other changes regarding the November 2026 updates, visit the Fedwire® Funds Service Upcoming Releases page.
Additional Fedwire® Enhancements to Review
The upcoming enhancements to the Fedwire® investigation messages (camt.110 and camt.111) are also worth reviewing in the MyStandards document. One topic we continue to hear feedback about is the limited use of the Investigation Response (camt.111). While the response message is technically optional, this may provide an opportunity for financial institutions to evaluate whether additional adoption could improve communication between requesting and sending institutions.
We have received more positive feedback on the Return Request/Response process, which is technically optional but encouraged by Fedwire® in its Quick Reference Guide.
The FedPayments® Manager enhancements may also be important for financial institutions using the ISO 20022 message import or export capabilities as a backup to other FedLine® processes, including FedLine® Advantages or FedLine® Direct.
If your financial institution uses these capabilities, testing the updated functionality and incorporating new changes to backup procedures could be an easy way to quickly update Business Continuity Management (BCM) and Disaster Recovery plans before the November implementation.
Stay ahead of the November implementation by joining us July 28 for our 3rd Quarter EPCOR Industry Update webinar, where we'll take a deeper dive into these upcoming Fedwire® Funds Service enhancements, implementation considerations and other key industry updates.
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