The Clearing House submitted comments responding to the Fed’s proposal to implement the ISO 20022 message format in a single day for Fedwire. TCH stated its support that the Reserve Banks adopt the ISO 20022 message format on a single day rather than the three separate phases previously proposed in its 2018 notice. “This one-day adoption of the ISO 20022 message format will yield the best results for the nations’ high-value payments systems.” In addition to stating that TCH intends to implement this change on the CHIPS system in a single day, TCH

1. Suggested aligning the timing of Fedwire implementation with that of CHIPS to the extent possible;
2. Requested that the Board and Federal Reserve Wholesale Product Office facilitate discussions with the industry following close of the comment period regarding the benefits and potential risks of Fedwire and CHIPS implementing ISO 20022 on the same day;
3. Supports the proposed backout and fix-in-place strategies;
4. Suggested that a Fedwire translation service and transparency regarding the level of participant readiness necessary for Fedwire to go live with ISO 20022 would be beneficial; and
5. Urged quicker action on the Board’s initiative to potentially expand the operating hours of Fedwire and the National Settlement Service up to 24x7x365.

To read the full comment letter click here.