Global Finance: Patric Leone, Product Owner Connectivity, Fides

Advancing with XML: A Corporate Imperative

In today’s dynamic digital payment landscape, the imperative to evolve or be left behind is starkly evident. Legacy systems have served their purpose, but the future belongs to agile, scalable solutions like XML. Embracing this transition is vital for maintaining a competitive edge as a corporate.

The global move toward XML isn’t just driven by Swift; it represents a broader industry shift affecting a wide range of digital payment players, including financial institutions, clearing systems, intermediaries, ERP and TMS. New TMS/ERP add-ons and emerging fintech offerings will predominantly be based on XML.

XML is becoming the new global language for payments and statements, ensuring compliance and unlocking numerous benefits and future services.

For example, some banks mandate structured addresses before November 2026. While message type (MT) formats can fulfill these requirements, conversions will incur costs for corporations, many of which lack the necessary data and thus require significant updates. Switching to XML is strategic, addressing these requirements and offering enhanced data richness and faster processing. Embracing XML streamlines operations, reduces friction and positions corporations for a more efficient financial future.

Swift’s commitment and June 2024 update reaffirm that November 2025 will be the end of the coexistence period, primarily focusing on instruction messages.

  • Instructions messages (e.g., payments):
    • Some MT messages will be withdrawn from FIN in November 2025.
    • MT101 and MT103 sent via FIN over a Financial BIC (FI) will require validation and face increased charges starting November 2025, but do not have a set date of decommissioning. Service termination may depend on individual bank’ offerings.

     

  • Non-Instructions:
    • Reporting, charges, checks and direct debits will not be withdrawn from FIN in November 2025.
    • MT940 and MT942 messages will continue via FIN over a FI BIC, depending on the bank’s service continuation.

     

  • Corporate-to-Bank (Corporate BIC Owner/SCORE):
    • No end of coexistence is planned.
    • Usage guidelines are available on swift.com.
    • Corporate BIC owners will be supported on FINplus starting November 2024.

XML offers enhanced interoperability, scalability, efficiency and future-proofing for businesses. In a globally and exponentially evolving technological economy, its flexible structure accommodates growth and facilitates seamless integration across platforms, laying the groundwork for leveraging emerging technologies, like AI.

Transitioning to XML can overcome limitations of legacy systems, standardizing data formats and structures to improve efficiency and accuracy. This enhances financial evaluation and speeds up decision making at lower costs. XML also integrates easily with solutions like cash forecasting, cash pooling, automated reconciliation and refined parameters “on behalf of payments,” bringing Virtual IBAN capabilities to life.

Multibanking providers like Fides can further simplify the migration process, minimizing the impact of additional data requirements and ensuring compatibility across systems.

The journey from legacy systems to XML is not a mere change; it represents an evolution that ensures your business remains dynamic and competitive. As financial institutions and corporations transition to XML, the benefits become clear: lower costs, enhanced data richness, faster processing, improved tracking and reconciliation, and unlocked new features and potential. Fides partners with corporates to embark on this vital evolution together and pave the way into the future.

The Fides Difference

Fides is the world leader in multibank connectivity, payments and transaction communications. A market leader for more than a century, Fides is committed to the principles of Open Banking, making treasury and financial operations as efficient, transparent and secure as possible for all organizations.

Fides provides everything organizations need for efficient cash and liquidity management, all through a single platform — along with connectivity to more than 13,000 financial institutions through an unmatched range of methods and channels. Thousands of companies around the globe rely on Fides’ connectivity capabilities and comprehensive workflow, reporting, conversion, validation and security services, for their own businesses and for extending services to their clients.

Whether you access via the secure Fides ONEHub or take advantage of our seamless integration with third-party ERP, TMS and other backend systems, Fides is the only platform you need.

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