Old National's ISO 20022 Leap Sets New Bar for Regional Banks

EVANSVILLE, IN – February 10, 2026 – Old National Bank has finalized a critical modernization of its international payment architecture, partnering with financial technology provider Axletree Solutions to achieve full compliance with the ISO 20022 global messaging standard. The move positions the Midwest-based bank not only to meet regulatory deadlines but to establish a significant competitive advantage in the increasingly complex world of global treasury management.

The collaboration centers on the implementation of Symmetree by Axletree®, a sophisticated integration platform that now hosts Old National’s updated SWIFT architecture. This provides the bank with a highly secure, transparent, and efficient system for managing international transactions, a move that executives say is already yielding tangible benefits.

Navigating a Landmark Industry Shift

The transition to ISO 20022 represents one of the most significant financial infrastructure changes in decades. It replaces legacy messaging formats with a universal, data-rich XML-based standard, promising greater efficiency, transparency, and interoperability across the global payments ecosystem. However, the path to adoption has been fraught with challenges for many U.S. financial institutions.

With the Federal Reserve’s Fedwire Funds Service having migrated in July 2025 and SWIFT’s cross-border network mandating the standard as of November 2025, the deadlines have created immense pressure. Many banks, burdened by legacy core systems and budget constraints, have opted for a minimal-compliance approach, simply translating messages to meet requirements without a deeper strategic overhaul. Industry reports indicated that a significant portion of mid-market banks were struggling to meet the deadlines, risking operational bottlenecks and a loss of competitiveness.

In this landscape, Old National’s proactive investment stands out. By partnering with Axletree to build a new foundation rather than simply patching an old one, the bank has sidestepped many of the common pitfalls. Instead of grappling with the complexities of managing both old (MT) and new (MX) message formats, Old National has implemented a system designed for the new data-rich environment from the ground up. This approach mitigates the risks of data truncation and lost information that can plague less integrated solutions, ensuring that the full value of the ISO 20022 standard is realized.

Beyond Compliance: Forging a Competitive Edge

For Old National, this initiative was never just about ticking a regulatory box. The bank is leveraging the upgrade to enhance its service offerings, streamline operations, and attract a larger share of the lucrative corporate payments market. The richer data inherent in ISO 20022 messages enables superior automation, more effective fraud detection, and a vastly improved customer experience.

“Our partnership with Axletree has improved both Old National’s efficiency and revenue potential, without disrupting daily client workflows,” said Jason Berkowitz, Old National Chief Technology Officer. “We’ve seen reduced friction in international payment processing, faster onboarding for our large corporate clients, higher transaction volumes, and improved operational efficiency through increased automation and validation.”

The benefits for the bank’s treasury management clients are direct and substantial. The new system, which leverages SWIFT APIs, provides the ability to track international payments in real time from end to end. This eliminates the “black box” of cross-border payments, where funds could previously disappear from view for days. For corporate treasurers, this newfound transparency is invaluable for managing cash flow, optimizing liquidity, and improving reconciliation processes.

“Whether clients are currently using our Swift services or exploring international payment solutions, our team is ready to discuss how the recent ISO 20022 changes might impact your operations,” noted Joe Wicklander, Old National Bank’s President of Treasury Management & Merchant Services. “With this partnership we’ve significantly enhanced our Treasury Management offerings while strengthening our competitive position in international payments.”

The strategic foresight is further evidenced by Axletree’s involvement in Old National’s integration of Bremer Bank in 2025, suggesting a broader, well-orchestrated technology consolidation and modernization strategy across the institution.

The FinTech Engine: How Axletree Powers the Transformation

At the heart of Old National’s successful upgrade is Axletree Solutions and its Symmetree platform. As North America's first SWIFT Service Bureau, Axletree specializes in abstracting the immense complexity of financial messaging and bank connectivity, allowing clients to focus on their core business.

Symmetree acts as a centralized integration layer, a universal translator that connects Old National’s various internal systems to global messaging networks like SWIFT. This model provides a single, unified interface for managing all payment workflows, a stark contrast to the siloed and often manual processes that plague many banks. The platform includes built-in logic to identify and correct non-compliant messages before they are transmitted, dramatically improving straight-through processing (STP) rates and reducing the costly manual interventions required to fix payment errors.

This “as-a-service” approach enabled Old National to achieve a state-of-the-art payment infrastructure without the multi-year, nine-figure investment typically associated with a complete internal overhaul of core banking systems. It represents a powerful example of how strategic FinTech partnerships can allow traditional financial institutions to innovate at speed and scale.

“Old National Bank exemplifies the kind of collaborative partnerships Axletree builds every day,” said Jeff Ferguson, Managing Director of Sales and Client Relationships for Axletree. “By working closely together, we’ve helped Old National Bank expand its Treasury Management capabilities, meet regulatory milestones, and drive meaningful profitability.”

By entrusting the technical intricacies of network connectivity, message translation, and standards compliance to a specialized partner, Old National has not only ensured compliance but has also built a scalable and future-proof foundation for growth. This strategic decision allows the bank to remain agile, ready to adopt future payment innovations and connect to new networks without another massive internal project, positioning them to effectively compete with larger national and global institutions.