On 4 February 2020, Pay.UK published a consultation paper setting out its proposals for adopting ISO 20022 and other key standards for the clearing and settlement capability that will be enabled by the New Payments Architecture (NPA) infrastructure.

The consultation is structured in three parts:

• the recommended direction for the adoption of ISO 20022 for the clearing and settlement capability to be enabled by the NPA;
• foundational technical details for the ISO 20022 message standard, including Pay.UK’s technical details and ISO 20022 readiness approach; and
• future direction on concepts that have emerged during Pay.UK’s consultative approach which require a degree of standardisation across the payments ecosystem.

The deadline for comments on the consultation is 31 March 2020. Pay.UK intends to publish the findings of its consultation during H2 2020.