As part of the Cross Border Payments and Reporting Plus (CBPR+) initiative, SWIFT and leading Payment Market Infrastructures (PMIs) will require town name and country code for any beneficiary postal address.
What’s changing?
Currently, you must use one of three formats for postal addresses in your payment messages:
- Fully unstructured:
This format will be phased out by November, 14, 2026. After that, all address fields must use either the structured or hybrid format. - Fully structured:
Address details are separated into specific fields, such as street name, post code, town, and country. - Hybrid:
Combines structured elements (town and country—both required) with up to two unstructured address lines (each up to 70 characters) for flexibility during the transition.
Impacted clients and systems
These requirements apply to cross-border payments sent over the SWIFT network and to payments processed through PMIs that require hybrid or fully structured addresses.
Impacted PMIs clearing systems include U.S. Fedwire, U.S. CHIPS, Canada (Lynx), Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), Swiss Interbank Clearing, UK (CHAPS), Target2-Euro, South Africa’s(SAMOS), Australia, Hong Kong (CHATS), Japan (FXYCS), Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines and South Korea (FCY).
If your payments do not meet the new requirements
Payments that do not follow the new address requirements may be rejected or delayed, which could impact your processing timelines.
SEPA Credit Transfers, Direct Debits, and SEPA-Instant
For SEPA Credit Transfers (CT), Direct Debits (DD), and SEPA-Instant the same address rules apply as for cross border payments
Effective November 14, 2026, sent addresses must be fully structured or hybrid with a minimum of town (<TwnNm>) and country (<Ctry>) supplied in the pain.001 or pain.008 file.
When issuing a SEPA DD, where the debtor account is located outside the European Economic Area (EEA), a structured or hybrid address must be provided for the debtor.
As of November 2026, Non-EEA SEPA Countries include Albania (AL), Andorra (AD), Moldova (MD), Monaco (MC), Montenegro (ME), North Macedonia (MK), San Marino (SM), Serbia (RS), Switzerland (CH), United Kingdom (GB), Vatican City State (VA).
This guidance does not replace any legal or regulatory requirements
This guidance does not replace any legal or regulatory requirements and is not legal, tax, or compliance advice. You are responsible for ensuring payment information is complete and accurate and that your payment practices comply with applicable requirements. Requirements and timelines may change based on market practice or network rules.
Future-proofing recommendations
To get the most benefit from this transition, we strongly recommend migrating to the ISO 20022 messaging standard, specifically using the pain.001 message format for payment initiation.
This will help you:
- Improve straight-through processing (STP)
- Reduce manual interventions and errors.
- Enhance data quality and integrity throughout the payment lifecycle.
- Support compliance with global regulatory and screening requirements.
Upcoming updates for additional formats
Information for other formats—including EBICS, EDIFACT, IDOC, MT10x, EPOS, Open Roads, and custom formats—will be available soon. Check back for the latest updates.
Client testing
Our client testing environment will be available soon. Check back here for updates and more information.
We are here to help
Start your internal assessments early to ensure a smooth transition. If you have questions or need support as you prepare for this change, contact our support team at hybrid.address.migration@jpmchase.com.
