The Interactive Financial eXchange Forum and the Accredited Standards Committee X9 announced today that the two organizations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) related to coordination on the development of the Extended Remittance message in ISO 20022.
The IFX Forum is an international non-profit industry association whose mission is to develop and promote the adoption of its open, interoperable standard for financial data exchange. ASC X9 has the mission to develop, establish, maintain, and promote American National Standards (under its ANSI accreditation) and international standards for the financial services industry in order to facilitate delivery of financial services and products.
The two groups are well suited to this collaboration. The IFX Forum actively engages in international standards activity, including longtime liaison with ISO TC68 and contributions to ISO 20022, a collaborative effort with BIAN (the Banking Industry Architecture Network) focusing on interoperability in payment execution, and a leadership role in the Remittance Coalition set up by the U.S. Federal Reserve. X9 is an ANSI-accredited financial standards developer and the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to ISO TC68 holding the U.S. vote on ISO TC68 -- Financial Services and various subcommittees.
"The IFX Forum has always been committed to collaborating in the development of international standards. In addition to recent initiatives, the Forum is a Category A Liaison to ISO TC68, and we co-founded the IST Harmonisation team to work on key payments standards for inclusion in the ISO 20022 repository," said IFX Forum President Richard P. Urban. "We are very pleased to engage with X9 to further the Extended Remittance work. This MoU opens the way for more direct participation between the organizations on this important industry-wide effort."
"The agreement between the IFX Forum and ASC X9 enables comprehensive cooperation as we work toward our mutual goal of completing and submitting the final Extended Remittance content to ISO 20022," said ASC X9 Executive Director Cindy Fuller. "The Extended Remittance then becomes a part of the ISO 20022 Repository."
The MOU supplies a framework for cooperation without r without restricting or impeding the autonomous identity and operations of both organizations. The leaders of the IFX Forum and ASC X9 anticipate that their groups' collaboration will benefit their members and other constituencies in the global financial services sector. Following a planning period, collaborative work will continue at the IFX Forum's Annual Meeting, which will take place in Minneapolis from April 30 through May 2. Details about the meeting and a link to register will be posted at www.ifxforum.org.