Swift Standards Release 2026 (SR2026) timeline

Following Swift's announcement to revise the implementation timeline for Standards Release 2026 (SR2026), Clearstream¹ informs clients that several planned ISO 20022 enhancements affecting payments and securities messaging will be deferred beyond November 2026.

Swift will implement a deferred and partial release of Standards Release 2026 (SR 2026 Deferred Release) on 12 June 2027. This release will consist of changes to all MT messages (excluding Category 1) and ISO 20022 funds, securities, tracker and exceptions and investigations messages. The implementation date for SR 2026 Deferred Release is confirmed for 12 June 2027.

All change requests related to cross-border payments (MT Category 1, ISO 20022 CBPR+, SCORE+ and SwiftGo messages) will be extracted from Standards Release 2026 and postponed to a future Standards Release. Swift will work with the community to agree on which remaining change requests will become part of Standards Release 2027. This will be communicated before the end of 2026.

Impact on clients

Payments

• The SR2026 CBPR+ payments package, including structured address requirements and other payment-related enhancements (MT Category 1), has been postponed to SR2027 or later, pending further industry consultation and confirmation by Swift.
• Clearstream will continue to support the currently implemented CBPR+ standards and will continue to accept unstructured postal addresses in Party and Agent fields in line with Swift’s revised timeline.

Securities services

• Swift has confirmed that SR2026 changes impacting all MT messages (excluding Category 1) and ISO 20022 funds, securities, Tracker and exceptions and investigations messages will be implemented on 12 June 2027. These changes include enhancements across securities settlement, funds, corporate actions and shareholder meetings.
• Clearstream plans to align with the revised Swift timeline and will communicate detailed implementation and testing arrangements in due course.

Client actions

Clients may continue operating using the message standards and formats currently supported by Clearstream.

Clearstream will provide further updates as Swift confirms:

• The implementation date for CBPR+-related SR2026 changes;
• Any associated client actions and testing milestones.

Further Information

Please refer to Swift’s announcement for additional details.

Based on the further information provided by Swift about the exact release dates for 2027, the Clearstream Release information will be updated and published accordingly.

For further information, please contact your Relationship Manager or Client Connectivity Services.

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1. Clearstream refers collectively to Clearstream Banking S.A., registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under number B-9248, and Clearstream Europe AG, registered office at Mergenthalerallee 61, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500. Clearstream Banking S.A. is registered as an Australian CS (Overseas) Facility, under subsection 824B(2) of the Corporations Act 2001, with registration number ARBN 675 244 783.