The European Payments Council said on 3 September 2026 that 15 November 2026 still stands as the end-date for the unstructured address format in its payment schemes. Swift announced on 27 August 2026 that it would extend the migration period for structured addresses in ISO 20022 payment messages. The EPC said it would determine its position at the meeting of its Payment Scheme Management Board on 9 September 2026.
The council said it is collecting statistical information and data trends on the current use of the various address formats in SEPA transactions. It also took note of the advice given at the Advisory Group on Market Infrastructures for Payments meeting of 20 August 2026, published on the European Central Bank AMI-Pay webpage.
SEB told customers that the EPC, the Nordic Payments Council and other market infrastructures are yet to announce whether they will change the deadline. The November 2026 change covers SEPA credit transfers, SEPA instant payments and SEPA direct debits alongside international Swift payments, SEK credit transfers and DKK credit transfers. Nordea told customers that from 15 November 2026 banks and clearing systems will no longer accept cross-border, SEK and SEPA payments containing unstructured postal addresses.
The divergence leaves institutions that send both cross-border and SEPA traffic working to two different dates. The EPC's position from the 9 September board meeting will settle whether 15 November 2026 remains the SEPA end-date.