The economic benefit of adopting the ISO 20022 payment message standard in Canada

Published: November 17, 2015

Given that implementation of the ISO 20022 standard will require investment from financial institutions and businesses, it is critical to understand clearly the prospective benefits that the standard will bring to Canadians and present these benefits in monetary terms. Quantifying the anticipated benefits of ISO 20022 adoption is, however, a challenge. As an initial step in this regard, the paper draws on discounted cash flow analysis to estimate the cost-savings to Canadians in anticipation that ISO 20022 adoption will expedite cheque elimination in favour of lower cost electronic payments.