Important to know: Preparing for ISO 20022 Structured Address Requirements

Q: What address formats will be supported after the change?

Two address formats will remain supported: Structured Address – address information provided in dedicated fields. Hybrid Address – structured fields combined with limited address lines. Fully unstructured addresses using only free-text address lines will no longer be supported. Which address fields are required? The ISO 20022 minimum requirement is: Town Name (TwnNm) Country (Ctry) However, many banks require additional information such as Street Name, Building Number, or Postal Code. Always follow your bank's requirements.

Starting in 2026, all payment messages must include structured postal addresses, free-text (unstructured) addresses will no longer be accepted. This change, mandated by SWIFT and major payment schemes, affects both international and many domestic payments (including SEPA and CHAPS). If your payment files or systems still use unstructured address fields, now is the time to act.

What’s changing?

Addresses must be split into separate fields: At a minimum, every payment must include the town/city and country as distinct data elements. Other fields (street name, building number, postal code) should be included where available.
Two formats are allowed:
- Fully structured: All address parts in dedicated fields (no free-text lines).
- Hybrid: Town/city and country in structured fields, with up to two free-text lines for extra details.
Unstructured addresses will be rejected after the deadline.

Why is this happening?

Structured addresses improve payment data quality, compliance, and automation. They help banks process payments faster, reduce errors, and ensure regulatory checks (like anti-money laundering) are more effective.

Simple steps to prepare

Check your systems and data
- Review all systems that generate payment files (ERP, treasury, salary, travel, legacy formats, csv-payments etc.).
- Ensure that for every payee, the address includes at least the city and country in your records.
- Confirm that these details are mapped to the correct structured fields in your payment files (not just in a single address line).
Audit and clean address data
- Identify addresses stored as free text or missing city/country.
- Plan a data clean-up: split addresses into components and fill in missing fields.
- Use automated tools or consult your bank for support if needed.
Update internal processes
- Modify payment templates and forms to capture structured address fields.
- Train staff to collect full address details from new vendors or partners.
Test early
- Send test payments with structured addresses to your bank before the deadline.
- Use bank-provided validation tools or sandboxes to ensure compliance.
  - * Please inform Nomentia once you have a clearer timeline and approach for testing the material using address information that differs from the current data.
Check with your bank
- Banks may have their own timelines or additional requirements—always confirm with your banking partners.

Deadline: The implementation timeline may vary between banks, as each bank decides how it will comply with the European Payments Council's deadline. Please contact your banks to confirm their specific requirements and schedule.

Need help?

If you are Nomentia customer, you can also visit our customer support portal for some more detailed information. Nomentia can assist, as a paid consulting service, in verifying the correctness of your payment file structure. However, please note that we do not add missing city or country information to your records. Get in touch

Frequently asked questions

Why am I hearing about structured address changes?

As part of the global ISO 20022 migration, banks and payment schemes are moving away from fully unstructured addresses. Address information included in payment messages must generally be provided in a structured format. Requirements may vary between banks, countries, payment schemes, and payment types.

What is a structured address?

A structured address stores address information in dedicated fields such as Town/City, Country, Street Name, Building Number, and Postal Code, instead of using free-text address lines.

What address formats will be supported after the change?

Two address formats will remain supported:

Structured Address – address information provided in dedicated fields.
Hybrid Address – structured fields combined with limited address lines.

Fully unstructured addresses using only free-text address lines will no longer be supported.

Which address fields are required?
The ISO 20022 minimum requirement is:

Town Name (TwnNm)
Country (Ctry)

However, many banks require additional information such as Street Name, Building Number, or Postal Code. Always follow your bank's requirements.

Does this affect all customers?

Not necessarily. The impact depends on the payment types, countries, clearing systems, and banks you use. Some banks may require structured addresses for only certain payment types, while others may apply the requirement more broadly.

Which payment types are typically affected?

The change primarily affects:

SEPA Credit Transfers (SCT)
SEPA Direct Debits (SDD)
Cross-border payments
High-value / RTGS payments

Examples include SEPA payments within SEPA countries, SWIFT cross-border payments (CBPR+), TARGET services, CHAPS, and other domestic ISO 20022 payment schemes.

Does this only affect international payments?

No. While cross-border payments are commonly affected, some domestic payment schemes are also implementing structured address requirements. Check the requirements with your bank.

Do I need to update my address information?

We recommend reviewing supplier, customer, employee, and beneficiary address data to ensure it is complete and up to date. Your own company’s address data should be reviewed and updated in Nomentia Masterdata.
Missing or incomplete address information may result in payment rejections.

Which parties in a payment message may require structured addresses?

Depending on the bank and payment type, structured address requirements may apply to:

Creditor (Beneficiary)
Debtor
Ultimate Creditor
Ultimate Debtor
Financial Institutions

Note: This does not mean addresses must be added for all of these parties. However, if any address element is included for a party, it may need to be provided in the required structured format. The creditor (beneficiary) address is one of the most commonly impacted areas.

If I provide only a country, is that enough?

No. If address information is included, at least both Town Name and Country must be provided. Additional address elements may also be required depending on the bank.

Do I need to upgrade to pain.001.001.09?

No. Customers are generally not required to upgrade their ERP or source systems solely because of the structured address changes. Structured address information can be provided regardless of whether the source format is v3, v9, or another supported format.

My ERP provider is moving to pain.001.001.09. Do I need to change my bank connection?

Not necessarily, but your Nomentia import interface may need to be updated if your ERP starts generating a different XML version.

ERP XML version upgrades and structured address requirements are separate topics. If a bank requires a specific XML version, Nomentia can typically handle the required bank format through an out-conversion.

How can I verify that structured address information is included in my payments?

Review both the imported payment file and the final bank output file in Nomentia:

Technical Information → Imported Material — Verify that structured address data is correctly imported into Nomentia.
Technical Information → Payload Material — Verify that the final payment file sent to the bank contains the required address information.

What if I use CSV payment imports?

Nomentia provides a CSV template that supports structured address fields, together with implementation guidance describing how the address information should be populated. Link to description

Do I need to update manual payment templates?

Yes. If address information is entered manually, payment templates should be reviewed to ensure all required structured address fields are available and properly configured.

What should I do if my bank has contacted me about structured addresses?

Review the requirements provided by your bank.
Verify that the required address data exists in your master data.
Test your payment files with the bank.
Contact Nomentia if changes to payment formats, bank connectivity, or file conversions are required.
Contact your bank if you need clarification regarding mandatory address elements or affected payment types.

Will Nomentia help us assess our readiness?

Yes. Nomentia can assist with readiness assessments, payment flow reviews, testing, troubleshooting, and implementation guidance. These activities are considered billable consulting services and will be estimated based on your specific environment and requirements.