The Central Bank of the Dominican Republic (BCRD) reported that the local financial system is advancing in technological adaptation to adopt the international standard ISO20022which from November 22, 2025 will be mandatory for cross-border payments managed through the network Swift.
The institution specified that this transition is part of a global process that seeks to increase the traceabilityinteroperability and efficiency in international financial operations.
He ISO20022 standard It will definitively replace the ISO15022 protocol, used since the seventies for financial messaging. The new standard allows more information to be sent in each payment instruction, improving risk controls and facilitating automation at banks and payment platforms around the world.
The changes
He BCRD explained that the change exclusively affects the payment messages between entities from different countries.
The domestic payments —including those settled in the Real-Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS)— will continue to operate with the current standardsince they are carried out within a closed group of users managed by the institution.
- However, the Central Bank announced that in January 2026 will start the process to migrate also andl RTGS to ISO20022with the goal of all local payments adopting the new standard before the end of that year.
The institution assured that the process will be completely transparent for the bank clientswho will not see changes in their daily transactions.
Likewise, he reiterated that he has maintained a permanent monitoring next to the Swift Corporation to guarantee the normal operation of the payment system international during the transition.
