"Through initiatives such as the XML-ACH Remittance Program and other projects, NACHA continually seeks to improve options and efficiencies of business-to-business transactions processed through the ACH Network," said Janet O. Estep, president and CEO of NACHA. "The enhancements to XML-ACH enable us to align the delivery of remittance with the international ISO 20022 standard to support improved reconciliation of payments with information, and further enable straight-through processing for businesses."

To support the inclusion of ISO 20022 remittance messages in the XML-ACH program, NACHA, with the help of CGI, an independent information technology and business process services firm, developed best practices and created a mapping tool to cross reference the ISO 20022 remittance messages with other remittance formats, such as the STP 820.
Improving adoption of ISO 20022 in the U.S. will be a major topic of discussion at the upcoming Payments Innovation Alliance meeting, which will take place October 22-24 in New York. The Payments Innovation Alliance, a membership program of NACHA, encourages industry collaboration to help advance global payments. During the upcoming meeting, attendees will have the opportunity to participate in two sessions, Building a Plan for ISO 20022 Adoption in the United States and ISO 20022 Business Perspectives and Impact, which will discuss ISO 20022 adoption in the U.S. and business impact of adoption, as well as best practices for ISO 20022 implementation. Representatives from the Federal Reserve Bank, The Clearing House, NACHA, Canadian Payments Association, Lipis Advisors and Camara Interbancaria de Pagamentos will share information and perspectives on the topic during the sessions.