ABBL Internal
Communication on Hybrid Postal Address Migration
As part of the ongoing transition to ISO 20022 messaging standards, we encourage you to proactively inform your corporate clients of the upcoming deadlines related to postal address formats in cross-border payments.
Timeline & Background
As of 22 November 2025, the hybrid address format, combining structured fields with free-text lines, is officially supported alongside fully structured formats.
However, the use of unstructured addresses will be prohibited as of 14 November 2026. Payments using unstructured address data will no longer be accepted after this date.
Why This Change?
The shift to ISO 20022 enables structured address data (country, city, postcode, street, etc.), improving data quality, compliance, fraud detection, and straight-through processing.
Structured or hybrid address formats support better interoperability, regulatory validation, and error reduction across payment systems.
What It Means for Banks & Corporates
Payment systems, treasury tools, ERP, and back-office processes must be updated to handle structured or hybrid addresses.
When creating or updating payer or beneficiary records, it is essential to include key fields.
Legacy or unstructured formats should no longer be used, payments containing such formats after the deadline may be rejected or delayed.
Strong Recommendation
All scheme participants are strongly encouraged to adopt structured or hybrid address formats now, well ahead of the enforcement deadline, to ensure seamless processing and full compliance.
In order to facilitate the communication, we would like to share with you the communication template prepared by Payment Market Practice Group (PMPG) and High Value Payments System Plus (HVPS+).