Bankgirot, the clearing house for mass payments in Sweden, and the banks carried out extensive development in 2025, which will be gradually rolled out during 2026. The aim is to align with international standards that make payments secure, smoother and more uniform for our customers.
Bankgirot will remain as central hub for payments in Sweden. Current infrastructure, including the Dataclearing and the Bankgiro system, will be replaced by a new modern platform.
The transformation of the Swedish payment system follows the same pattern as in the rest of the world. With a global standard, ISO 20022, it will be easier to make payments from a customer perspective, as many national special rules and formats disappear. Other improvements include faster transfers and the ability to send more information with each payment.
The transition to the new payment system will occur in two phases for the Swedish market.
Discover how Sweden’s new payment infrastructure will impact you. Bankgirot and Swedish banks are modernising the platform to make payments secure, smooth and aligned with European standards. Video: 3 min. In Swedish, subtitled in English.
Bankgiro-, Plusgiro numbers and OCR numbers will remain.
Any file communication directly with Bankgirot needs to be changed to file communication with SEB. This change has already been communicated and if you are sending payment files in ISO 20022 format to us, you are prepared to the future changes.
If you send payments via file, above changes will be introduced for file-based payment initiation as well as in the camt reports.
You can find details about the upcoming changes in the files here.
This guide is valid from March 2026 and onwards.
SEB’s ISO 20022 Message Implementation Guidelines (MIG) are already updated.
If you use an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendor or Salary System Vendor to send payment files, check with your provider to ensure they support the new ISO 20022 standard.
All Business system providers, that is Bank Integrators, Salary System Vendors, ERP Vendors and Service Agencies, that are part of SEB's partnership network already handle the new file format.
The basis for the change is a global format according to the ISO 20022 standard. The Swedish payments will also be based on a rulebook developed at a Nordic level within the Nordic Payments Council (NPC), which is similar to the rulebook for SEPA payments in EUR. All in all, this leads to a harmonisation with payments in the rest of Europe and the world. Below changes will have a phased implemented during 2026.
Find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the new payment infrastructure.
Yes. What’s new is that the recipient’s name will be required also in online channels and apps. It will also be possible to include more information such as longer messages (remittance information) and structured references if requested by the recipient.
Messages can be 140 characters long (remittance information). This can be compared with 12 characters for a credit transfer in the current format.
Yes, Bankgiro and Plusgiro remains as previously.
Yes, the standard for how salaries/pensions/social benefits are paid out remains as before.
Money orders will not be offered through the new Bankgiro infrastructure and will be phased out. From 2026-06-30 you need an alternative to Money orders. Either credit transfers or Swish Payout for all recipients.
Yes, in addition to the name of the payer, the payers’ address will also be included in transaction details. This will give you enhanced possibility to diversify payers with similar names. There are also several optional fields for information related to the payment transactions that can be used.
Yes, this will be possible. The sender will be able to make payments to your Bankgiro number in the same way as previously. The Bankgiro numbers will be included in your reporting on incoming payments.
Yes, this will be possible. The sender will be able to include an OCR number as a structured reference as previously. Us banks will make OCR validations.
No paper reports will not be offered in the future. File-based reporting in the ISO 20022 format, camt, will replace paper-based reports. Details of payments are also visible in the online channels and apps.
The format standards are the payment and payment reporting formats within the ISO 20022 standard. This standard replaces the existing formats. This also means that the same type of format can be used for all payments regardless of whether they are domestic or foreign transactions. (Autogiro and E-faktura will be handled in current format until further notice).
No, you will need to have a connection to us for your files. All files shall be in the ISO 20022 format and follow SEB’s message implementation guidelines (MIG).
There will be extended possibilities to send remittance information compared with today. A maximum of one structured reference or 140 characters unstructured information can be sent as remittance information.
For files, more guidance on how the fields shall be used can be found in the SEB MIG, message implementation guideline: File testing with SEB Test Bench
If you use an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendor or Salary System Vendor to send payment files, check with your provider to ensure they support the new ISO 20022 standard. All Business system providers (Bank Integrators, Salary System Vendors, ERP Vendors and Service Agencies) that are part of SEB's partnership network already handle the new file format.
Read more about the file format according to the ISO 20022 standard.
