ISO 20022
ISO 20022 is an international standard for electronic data exchange in payment transactions, which forms the basis for QR-bills and CAMT messages in Switzerland.
ISO 20022
ISO 20022 is a global standard for financial messaging developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). It defines uniform XML formats for payment instructions, account statements and status messages in payment transactions.
In Switzerland, the harmonisation of payment transactions to ISO 20022 has enabled the introduction of the QR-bill and the phasing out of the old payment slips. Banks deliver credit notifications in the CAMT format (e.g. camt.054), which is based on ISO 20022. For you as a merchant, this means: automatic payment reconciliation instead of manual account statement verification.
Globally, ISO 20022 will become the standard for international payment transactions by 2025 (SWIFT network, TARGET2 in the EU). For Swiss companies operating internationally, compatibility with ISO 20022 is therefore increasingly relevant.
ISO 20022 examples
A bank provides the merchant with a camt.054 message (ISO 20022 format) containing all credits and QR references for automatic payment reconciliation.
An ERP system imports pain.001 files (ISO 20022) in order to transfer payment orders automatically to the bank.
The Swiss QR-bill is based on the ISO 20022 standard and contains all payment information in a standardised QR code.
ISO 20022 FAQ
What is ISO 20022?
ISO 20022 is an international standard for electronic data interchange in payment transactions. It defines unified XML formats for payment orders, account statements and credit advices.
What does ISO 20022 have to do with the QR-bill?
The Swiss QR-bill is based on the ISO 20022 standard. Incoming payments are advised via camt messages (ISO 20022), which enables automatic payment reconciliation.
What is a camt.054 message?
The camt.054 is a credit notification in ISO 20022 format that banks deliver to businesses. It contains all incoming payments with reference numbers and enables automatic reconciliation with open invoices.
Does ISO 20022 also affect small companies?
Yes, indirectly. If you send QR-bills or want to automatically reconcile incoming payments, you work with ISO 20022 formats. Most modern accounting tools (Bexio, Abacus) support these formats natively.
