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Banking

Real-Time Payments Hub with ISO 20022 Messaging

We implemented a payments hub that handles instant domestic payments and modernises cross-border messaging to ISO 20022. The bank consolidated multiple payment applications into one orchestrated platform.

Middle East commercial bank (composite) · Banking

Real-Time Payments Hub with ISO 20022 Messaging

Challenge

Meeting 24x7 availability and strict latency budgets for instant payments. We used in-memory processing, asynchronous screening with time-boxed decisions, and chaos testing of failover scenarios.

Approach

The hub receives payment initiations from channels and corporate host-to-host connections, validates and enriches them, performs sanctions screening and limit checks, and routes them to the instant payment scheme, RTGS or correspondent networks. Messages are mapped to ISO 20022 (pacs, pain, camt) with legacy format translation where needed. A repair queue handles exceptions, and real-time dashboards track throughput, latency and scheme acknowledgements. The design is active-active across data centres.

Outcome

One platform for instant, high-value and cross-border payments Readiness for ISO 20022 mandates with richer remittance data Illustratively ~30–40% less manual repair work through better validation Round-the-clock availability with tested failover Faster rollout of new payment products for corporate clients

✓One platform for instant, high-value and cross-border payments
✓Readiness for ISO 20022 mandates with richer remittance data
~30–40%Illustratively less manual repair work through better validation

Problem solved

Separate legacy applications per payment type made changes slow, operations fragmented, and new scheme requirements expensive to meet.

What we built

The hub receives payment initiations from channels and corporate host-to-host connections, validates and enriches them, performs sanctions screening and limit checks, and routes them to the instant payment scheme, RTGS or correspondent networks. Messages are mapped to ISO 20022 (pacs, pain, camt) with legacy format translation where needed. A repair queue handles exceptions, and real-time dashboards track throughput, latency and scheme acknowledgements. The design is active-active across data centres.

Benefits

One platform for instant, high-value and cross-border payments Readiness for ISO 20022 mandates with richer remittance data Illustratively ~30–40% less manual repair work through better validation Round-the-clock availability with tested failover Faster rollout of new payment products for corporate clients

ISO 20022pacs/pain/camtRTGSSanctions screeningActive-activeChaos testing

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