As part of the CBPR+, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) and leading Payment Market Infrastructures (PMI) mandates the inclusion of Country Code and Town Name for all payment fields. This mandate aims to offer precise compliance information and higher automation in processing payments.

As of November 2025, there will be three valid formats for providing postal addresses in payment messages:

1. Fully unstructured: Will be decommissioned by November 2026, and all address fields must be in a structured or hybrid format.
2. Fully structured: Typically comprising distinct components such as street name, post code, town, and country details.
3. Hybrid option combines structured elements within Postal Address (Town Name and Country are mandatory information) as well as unstructured format ( AddressLIne can be up to 2 lines of 70 characters) for greater flexibility during the transition.

Who is impacted?

These requirements apply to cross-border payments sent over the SWIFT network and to payments processed through clearing systems that require hybrid or fully structured addresses. Impacted systems include Fedwire, CHIPS, SEPA, Swiss Interbank Clearing, CHAPS-UK, Target2-Euro, and South Africa’s SAMOS. Payments that do not follow the new address requirements may be rejected or delayed, which could impact your processing timelines.