On 6 June 2018, the Bank of England (BoE) issued a consultation paper, in conjunction with the new Payments System Operator (NPSO) and the Payment System Regulator, on the first steps in the transition of CHAPS, Faster Payments and Bacs to ISO 20022 and proposes a format for a new, common messaging standard to payments made in these systems.
The consultation paper contains three key complimentary proposals. The first proposal is to establish a common message format for credit payments across CHAPS, Faster Payments and Bacs, referred to as the Common UK Credit Message (CCM). The second and third proposals cover how the BoE as CHAPS operator plans to move from the legacy format to a CHAPS-specific version of the CCM.
As the design of the new payments architecture matures, the NPSO plans in due course to consult on the specific proposals for implementation of the CCM in the retail payments systems. The BoE and NPSO will seek to implement changes in as harmonised a way as possible, while respecting differences that arise from the different types of payments sent through the different systems.
The deadline for comments on the consultation paper is 18 July 2018.