Learn how SWIFT and ISO 20022 migration are simplifying cross-border payments and discover how financial institutions can enhance speed and global connectivity

Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank by assets, embarked on a major payments modernization initiative to enhance agility, client experience, and operational resilience across 20 African markets. Partnering with Volante Technologies, the bank implemented a cloud-first, ISO 20022-ready payments infrastructure to replace aging legacy systems.

As the financial industry rapidly evolves, Lakeside recognized the need to upgrade its legacy payment systems to stay competitive. The existing infrastructure was not equipped to handle the increasing demand for real-time payments, seamless integration with emerging payment networks, or the agility required to adapt to new technologies and regulatory standards.

As real-time payments (RTP) adoption accelerates in the U.S., financial institutions are navigating the evolving landscape of instant payments, including the Federal Reserve’s FedNow and The Clearing House’s RTP network.

By partnering with Volante, one of the world’s largest global transaction and payments services banks became the first to adopt a fully unified ISO 20022 migration model across all markets. This strategic collaboration enabled faster onboarding of payment schemes, enhanced compliance and operational resilience, and ultimately improved the client experience globally.

Rather than viewing the new deadline as just another regulatory checkpoint, banks should seize this moment to accelerate their broader payment transformation initiatives.

Partnering with Volante Technologies, SouthState Bank launched a comprehensive Instant Payments initiative as part of a multi-year strategy to enable faster, seamless, and secure payment experiences.

Swiss financial institutions have long been at the forefront of innovation in the payments and messaging space. However, the need to modernize their fragmented and aging infrastructure to comply with ISO 20022 presented a critical challenge.

In a recent episode of Volante Elevate, we spoke with Michael Knorr of Wells Fargo about the evolving ISO 20022 landscape, and what financial institutions must do to move beyond compliance to tap into ISO 20022’s data-rich potential.

Unlike its predecessors, ISO 20022 is data-rich, flexible, and designed to accommodate the ever-changing needs of the financial industry, including the need for real-time processing, enhanced fraud detection, and better regulatory reporting.

For financial institutions, adopting ISO 20022 is not just a compliance exercise but a strategic opportunity to enhance customer insights, streamline financial crime compliance, and unlock new value propositions.

July 14, 2025 marks an important date in the journey toward modernizing legacy payment systems. This article will provide context behind Fedwire’s impending migration and explain what banks stand to gain from ISO 20022 compliance.