Key takeaways
- Swift was due to start rejecting payments with fully free-text addresses on 14 November 2026. On 27 August 2026 it deferred that change, and said it would set new timing by December 2026.
- What still applies: in Swift's ISO 20022 payment messages, the payer's and payee's town and country must be in their own fields.
- The change is deferred, not cancelled. In July 2026, about 58% of payer addresses in Swift's customer payment messages were still free text, so banks will keep asking for structured addresses.
- Give payers your registered address split into fields: building number, street, postcode, town and country. Use the same address on invoices, in your bank's records and in your KYB documents.
The short answer
Swift had set 14 November 2026 as the date from which payment messages with fully unstructured, free-text postal addresses would be rejected. On 27 August 2026, after a request from banks and market infrastructures, it deferred the payments changes due that weekend, including this one, and said it would publish new timing by December 2026 at the latest.
The direction hasn't changed. Payment messages already have to carry the town and country of the payer and payee in their own fields, and banks are moving their systems to structured addresses. For your company, the work is small: give payers your address split into fields, and keep it identical everywhere it appears.
What changed, and what didn't
| Before 27 August 2026 | Now | |
|---|---|---|
| Fully unstructured addresses in Swift payment messages | To be rejected from 14 November 2026 | Still accepted; new timing due by December 2026 |
| Town and country in their own fields | Required | Still required |
| Hybrid addresses (structured town and country, up to two free-text lines) | Accepted | Accepted |
| Fully structured addresses | Accepted | Accepted |
| SEPA (European Payments Council) | Unstructured addresses to end in November 2026 | Postponed by the EPC on 30 September 2026, with no new date |
Swift's other November 2026 payments changes were deferred too, while its securities and trade changes go ahead separately. The Bank of England also deferred its November 2026 release of messaging changes for CHAPS.
Why banks still want it
The deferral gives banks more time; it doesn't remove the reason for the change. Address fields that machines can read make it easier for every bank in the chain to screen a payment automatically. When a bank can't tell from a free-text line which town or country a party is in, it may stop the payment to check by hand, which is one of the reasons international payments are held. See why international business payments get rejected or returned.
Adoption is still incomplete. According to Swift's data for July 2026, as reported by The Industry Spread, 58.3% of debtor (payer) address fields and 59.3% of creditor (payee) address fields in its customer credit transfer messages were still free text. In March 2026, Swift had put the share of payment messages with unstructured addresses at about 65%.
What a structured address looks like
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| Building number | 12 |
| Street name | Harbour Road |
| Post code | EC1A 1BB |
| Town name | London |
| Country | GB |
A hybrid address keeps town name and country in their own fields and allows up to two free-text lines for the rest, for example "Unit 4, 12 Harbour Road" and "Business Park". Country is the two-letter ISO code, such as GB, DE, AE or US.
What to do now
- Write down your structured address once, from your company's registration documents, and use it everywhere: invoices, your bank account, payment provider profiles and KYB documents.
- Put the fields on your invoices. Show the building number, street, postcode, town and country on separate lines, next to your bank details, so a payer's accounts team can copy them into the right fields.
- Ask your bank or provider which address it holds for your account, and update it if it differs.
- Collect structured addresses from suppliers when you set them up as payees, so your outgoing payments don't need fixing later.
- Don't use a registered agent or P.O. box address unless that's what your bank holds. Some providers don't accept them at all.
How this works with Align
When you open an account, Align's KYB review asks for proof of your business address, and your named accounts are issued in your company's name. Payers sending USD by SWIFT should use your full registered address, with town and country in their own fields; the USD account page shows what to give them. Payers in the euro area, the UK and the US can use local rails instead, which avoids SWIFT altogether.
Sources
- Swift, Swift accepts community request to extend structured address migration for ISO 20022 payment messages (27 August 2026, updated 21 September 2026)
- Swift, ISO 20022 in bytes for payments: call to action for November 2026
- The Industry Spread, Swift defers structured address deadline, securities ship in Q1 2027 (31 August 2026)
- SpendTheBits, Swift ISO 20022 deadline delayed (12 September 2026)
- European Payments Council, Guidance on the provision of addresses, version 2.2 (September 2026)
- J.P. Morgan, Adoption of structured and hybrid addresses for CBPR+ (accessed November 2026)
Common questions
- Will my international payment be rejected in November 2026 because of the address?
- Not because of the Swift deadline, which was deferred on 27 August 2026. But a bank can still reject or hold a payment whose address fields are incomplete, and the requirement for town and country in their own fields still applies. Give complete, structured details and the question doesn't arise.
- What is a structured address?
- An address split into separate fields, such as building number, street name, postcode, town name and country, rather than written as free-text lines. ISO 20022 payment messages have a field for each. A hybrid address keeps town and country in their own fields and allows up to two free-text lines for the rest.
- Does this affect SEPA payments too?
- The European Payments Council had planned to stop accepting fully unstructured addresses in SEPA in November 2026. Its address guidance of 30 September 2026 postponed that date without setting a new one. Providing town and country in their own fields is already good practice for SEPA payments.
- What address should I give, my registered or my trading address?
- The address your bank holds for the account, which is usually your registered address. Mismatches between the address on an invoice, the account and your company documents are a common reason for compliance questions on a payment.
This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and providers' terms change; check the sources linked above and take advice on your own situation.