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RTGS ISO 20022 Deadline Extended to March 31, 2014

Current · Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/413 · issued 20 Dec 2013 · ~1 min read
Quick answerRBI has extended the deadline for RTGS members to fully adopt ISO 20022 messaging without conversion from older 'R' series formats to March 31, 2014. No further extensions will be granted, so banks must complete CBS modifications by then.
The rule, in the simplest words
How it plays out — a real example

A payments & clearing officer in Indore, Priya, checks her bank's IT team update. They are still using a temporary converter to change old messages to the new ISO 20022 format for RTGS payments. Priya reminds them that RBI's final deadline is March 31, 2014, and no more extensions will be given. She urges them to finish updating the core banking system (CBS) so her branch can keep processing large gold-loan payments without any disruption.

What changed

The new RTGS system, operational since October 19, 2013, uses ISO 20022 messaging standards for standardization and interoperability. Banks were initially required to be ready by March 31, 2013, but many relied on temporary conversion solutions. RBI has now extended the final adoption deadline to March 31, 2014, after which no further extensions will be allowed.

What it means for you

Banks must urgently upgrade their core banking systems to natively handle ISO 20022 messages instead of relying on conversion tools. This is a hard stop—failure to comply by March 31, 2014, could disrupt RTGS operations. The move aligns India with global payment standards and enables smoother interoperability across systems.

What you must do

Who it affects

All RTGS member banks, Bank IT and CBS teams, Payment system service providers

❓ Common questions

What is the new deadline for ISO 20022 adoption in RTGS?

The deadline is March 31, 2014. No further extensions will be permitted after this date.

Why did RBI extend the deadline?

Banks requested more time because they had not completed CBS modifications and were relying on temporary conversion solutions from IT providers.

What happens if banks miss the March 31, 2014 deadline?

RBI has stated that no further extensions will be allowed, so non-compliance could lead to operational disruptions in RTGS participation.

📜 Read the original circular — full text as issued by RBI
RBI/2013-14/413 DPSS (CO) RTGS No.1357/04.04.017/2013-14 December 20, 2013 The Chairperson / Chief Executive Officer RTGS Members Madam / Sir, Adoption of ISO 20022 messaging standard in new RTGS System As you are aware, the new RTGS System has been operationalised with effect from October 19, 2013 and the RTGS Business Regulations, 2013 have come into effect from the date. 2. The new RTGS system is based on ISO 20022 standard messaging formats. The objective of introducing ISO 20022 standard message format for payment system is to bring about standardisation in the messaging formats for various payment systems in the country and to conform to international standard. Standardisation of message for payment systems would also enable interoperability. 3. Keeping in view the infrastructure requirement / changes necessitated at participants end, the Reserve Bank had issued a circular RBI / 2012-13 / 355 [DPSS (CO) RTGS No. 1052 / 04.04.017 / 2012-13 dated December 31, 2012 advising participants of the RTGS system to be in readiness to handle ISO 20022 message format by March 31, 2013. 4. However, banks have not taken enough measures to handle ISO 20022 standard messages and are relying on temporary solution provided by their IT/service providers for conversion of message from /to the “R” series message as was being used in the earlier version of the RTGS. 5. Requests are now being received from banks to allow them to continue with the temporary arrangement till the required modifications are made at the CBS in the bank’s end. On review of the request it has been decided to extend the time for adoption of ISO 20022 messaging seamlessly without conversion from/to “R” series formats up to March 31, 2014 by RTGS member banks. Please note that no further extension of time will be permitted. 6. All RTGS members are advised to acknowledge receipt of this circular and forward an action taken report. Yours faithfully, (Nilima Ramteke) General Manager
Reproduced for reference with acknowledgment — Source: Reserve Bank of India · RBI/2013-14/413 · issued 20 Dec 2013. The plain-English explanation above is BankPulse’s own independent summary.
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Worked example & action-note template

Example: if you are a Compliance officer at a bank this circular applies to (All RTGS member banks, Bank IT and CBS teams, Payment system service providers), your first concrete step on “RTGS ISO 20022 Deadline Extended to March 31, 2014” is: “Complete CBS modifications to support native ISO 20022 messaging by March 31, 2014.” (RBI issued this 20 Dec 2013).

  1. Circular: RBI/2013-14/413 -- RTGS ISO 20022 Deadline Extended to March 31, 2014
  2. Issued: 20 Dec 2013
  3. Action required: Complete CBS modifications to support native ISO 20022 messaging by March 31, 2014.
  4. Action required: Submit an action taken report to RBI acknowledging receipt of this circular.
  5. Action required: Coordinate with IT/service providers to phase out temporary message conversion arrangements.
  6. Action required: Ensure no reliance on 'R' series format conversion beyond the deadline.
  7. Owner: ____________ Target date: ____________
  8. Board/committee approval needed? Y / N
  9. Evidence filed in compliance register on: ____________
Built only from this circular’s own published fields — not legal advice; always confirm against the official RBI source.

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BankPulse Compliance Evidence Pack — generated 03 Aug 2026 · status cross-checked against RBI’s official withdrawal register (refreshed weekly).
Official RBI source: https://www.rbi.org.in/Scripts/NotificationUser.aspx?Id=8639&Mode=0 — Plain-English summary by BankPulse (bankpulse.ai), reviewed by our expert reviewer, CA Amit Jain. Independent platform, not affiliated with the Reserve Bank of India; is our own plain-English paraphrase, not RBI’s original wording.
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