ISO 20022 FAQs

What is ISO 20022?

ISO 20022 is a single standardised approach for processing payments in over 70 countries for high-value and instant payment systems of all major currencies.
Why do I need to provide this new information?
The main benefit of adopting the changes of ISO 20022 is that it enhances the payment experience for you.
- Faster processing – by providing more information within the payment in a more structured/specific way, it allows banks to apply the funds to customers’ accounts quicker.
- Reduce queries – by providing more information within the payment it will allow banks to identify specific information and reduce the number of queries.

Changes to Individual Payments

In order to align with the new payment standards ISO 20022, from April 2024, there will be some changes to the information we need from you when making the following payment types through IBB:

Single European Payment Area (SEPA) Euro urgent payments
International payments

Standard SEPA payments are not impacted.

What new information will be needed?

Paying on behalf of:
This is the ultimate sender’s name. If you’re making this payment on behalf of another person or business, then enter their name here.

e.g., A solicitor received a payment from his client Joe Blogs for the sale of a house, the solicitor sends the money onto the seller (John Smith)

In this case you should put Joe Blogs as Paying on behalf of

Ultimate receiver:
This is the ultimate creditor name. If you’re making this payment to another person or business but they are not the final recipient, then enter the ultimate receiver’s full name here.

e.g., Joe Blogs is buying a house from James Smith, Joe Blogs sends the money to the solicitor to send onto James Smith.

In this case you should put James Smith as Ultimate Receiver (but this is only needed if the ultimate receiver is different to the receiver)

Payee Message:
You can add a personalised message to send with the payment to help you or the payee identify your payment.

Purpose of Payment:
These are the details of the purpose of the payment and this field must contain either a code from the defined ISO list or a code from our website page list, see below for information on where to get these details.

ISO defined list:
https://www.iso20022.org/catalogue-messages/additional-content-messages/external-code-sets

AIB website list:
https://aib.ie/our-products/current-accounts/international-payments/purpose-of-payment-codes

Some countries have specific requirements in relation to Purpose of Payment, please make sure you confirm if these are applicable with the payee.

Countries that have specific Purpose of Payment codes are:
Bahrain
India
Jordan
Philippines
United Arab Emirates

Changes to Bulk Payment Files

What is the transition period for making changes to your Bulk Payment Files?

Friday 3 October 2025 is the last day that you will be able to submit files using the old version. After the relevant cut-off time for your bulk payment file on Friday 3 October 2025, the old version will not be processed.

Changes in relation to the structured address format can be made up to November 2026, however we would encourage you to make these changes in line with all other ISO 20022 changes by 3 October 2025.
What payment types are impacted by this change?

For AIB customers, ISO 20022 will bring updates to all SEPA and international payments. These will include SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Direct Debit and Multi-Currency Bulk payment files as well as individual payments.

What are the main changes for ISO 20022?

SEPA Credit Transfer Bulk Payment File

Main changes in the new AIB SCT Bulk File Specification; available from March 2024 “pain.001.001.09”
Field Name	Required Change
Encoding	PAIN Name changes to “pain.001.001.09” Each file must start with: <?xml version=”1.0” encoding=”UTF-8”?><Document xmlns=”urn:iso:std:iso:20022:tech:xsd:pain.001.001.09” xmlns:xsi=”http://www. w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance”>
Requested Execution Date	Inclusion of new “Dt” tag within the XPath.
Debtor Agent BIC	''BIC” changes to “BICFI” within the Xpath.
Creditor Agent BIC	“BIC” changes to “BICFI” within the Xpath.
Creditor Postal Address	There will be a new structured address format. This will consist of 4 fields. These include: Creditor Postal Address Street Name Creditor Postal Address Post Code Creditor Postal Address Town Name Creditor Postal Address Country This will be the only address format available from November 2026. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.
Remittance Data (Unstructured)	A new business rule applies if you choose to populate this field. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.
	New SEPA Usage Rule(s): Either “AnyBIC”, “LEI” or one occurrence of “Other” is allowed.
Debtor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Debtor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Ultimate Debtor Organisation BIC	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Ultimate Debtor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Creditor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Creditor Organisation LEI	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.

SEPA Direct Debit Bulk Payment File

Main changes in the new AIB SDD Bulk File Specification; available from March 2024 “pain.008.001.08”
Field Name	Required Change
Encoding	PAIN Name changes to “pain.008.001.08” Each file must start with: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><Document xmlns=”urn:iso:std:iso:20022:tech:xsd:pain.008.001.08” xmlns:xsi=”http://www.w3.org/2001/ XMLSchema-instance”>
Creditor Agent BIC	“BIC” changes to “BICFI” within the Xpath
	New SEPA Usage Rule(s): Either “AnyBIC”, “LEI” or one occurrence of “Other” is allowed.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Mandate Original Debtor Agent	“BIC” changes to “BICFI” within the Xpath.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation BIC	''BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Debtor Agent BIC	“BIC” changes to “BICFI” within the Xpath.
Debtor Postal Address	There will be a new structured address format. This will consist of 4 fields. These include: Debtor Postal Address Street Name Debtor Postal Address Post Code Debtor Postal Address Town Name Debtor Postal Address Country This will be the only address format available from November 2026. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.
Debtor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Debtor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Ultimate Debtor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Ultimate Debtor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Remittance Data (Unstructured)	A new business rule applies if you choose to populate this field. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.

Multi-Currency Bulk Payment File

Main changes in the new AIB MCY Bulk File Specification; available from March 2024 “pain.001.001.09”
Field Name	Required Change
Encoding	PAIN Name changes to “pain.001.001.09” Each file must start with: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <Document xmlns:xsi=”http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance” xmlns=”urn:iso:std:iso:20022:tech:xsd:pain.001.001.09”>
Requested Execution Date	Inclusion of new “Dt” tag within the XPath.
Debtor Agent BIC	“BIC” changes to “BICFI” within the Xpath.
Creditor Agent BIC	“BIC” changes to “BICFI” within the Xpath.
Multi-Currency Creditor Agent Clearing Code	*Only applicable for Non-SCT payments Character length reduced from 35 to 28
Creditor Postal Address	There will be a new structured address format. This will consist of 4 fields. These include: Creditor Postal Address Street Name Creditor Postal Address Post Code Creditor Postal Address Town Name Creditor Postal Address Country This will be the only address format available from November 2026. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.
Multi-Currency Creditor Bank Account	*Only applicable for Non-SCT payments Character length reduced from 35 to 34
Purpose Code	Either the Purpose Code or Purpose Proprietary is mandatory for non SCT payments (excluding payments from 238590 account) and one of these tags must be included in your file. This is an optional field for SCT payments. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.
Purpose Proprietary	Either the Purpose Proprietary or Purpose Code is mandatory for non SCT payments (excluding payments from 238590 account) and one of these tags must be included in your file. This is an optional field for SCT payments. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.
Remittance Data (Unstructured)	This field is only mandatory for payments made from a 238590 account and must contain a purpose of payment e.g. wages A new business rule applies if you choose to populate this field. This is an optional field for SCT payments. *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.
	New SEPA Usage Rule(s): Either “AnyBIC”, “LEI” or one occurrence of “Other” is allowed.
Debtor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Debtor Organisation LEI	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath
Ultimate Debtor Organisation BIC	''BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath
Ultimate Debtor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Creditor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Creditor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation BIC	“BICOrBEI” changes to “AnyBIC” within the Xpath.
Ultimate Creditor Organisation LEI	This is a new field that you can choose to populate if required.
Unpaid Error Codes	Addition of new unpaid error codes *Please review the relevant bulk file specification for more information.

What will happen if I don’t make these changes by 3 October 2025?

Friday 3 October 2025 is the last day that you will be able to submit files using the old version. If you don’t make the mandatory changes after the relevant cut-off time for your file on Friday 3 October 2025, any files that you upload in the old version will fail.
Can I use the transition period until it ends on 3 October 2025?

Customers can continue to upload files in the current format or alternatively make the necessary changes to the new format. This is a phased approach. Both formats will be supported and available on the AIB website until 3 October 2025.

It would be beneficial for business customers to plan accordingly as this will enable AIB to manage and support your concerns during this transition period.
Where can I access the File Specifications?

The File Specifications can be found on the bottom of this page https://aib.ie/business/help/iso-faqs.
When will AIB accept the new file formats?

AIB will accept the new file formats with these changes from 19 March 2024.
How will AIB support me with this change?

AIB will work with you to validate the changes from 20 November 2023. You can do this by sending a test file with the required changes to sepa.testfile@aib.ie. Once you receive confirmation that your file has been tested successfully you can continue to send the payment files in the new format through iBB from 19 March 2024 onwards.
How do I prepare for the change to my Payment Files?
Next Steps:
- Identify the changes in the updated file formats that will impact your files.
- Review your internal systems to ensure the new data elements will be captured correctly.
- Engage with your payment systems IT providers for support.
- If you use a third-party software provider to process your bulk payment files you will need to tell them about these changes and ensure they update their systems.
- Send a test file to sepa.testfile@aib.ie with the updated changes.
- If you have any more questions, we’re ready to help just call us on 0818 720000 (+353 1641 4889 from outside Republic of Ireland).

Downloads

SEPA Credit Transfers XML File Specification

Multi-Currency XML File Specification

AIB SEPA Direct Debit XML File Specification