Structured Addresses: The Future Starts Today

Unstructured addresses are not completely disappearing from SEPA payments just yet. However, anyone following the latest developments can clearly see where the industry is heading: the future belongs to structured addresses and, as a transitional solution, hybrid addresses.

EPC Extends the Deadline for Unstructured Addresses

The use of unstructured addresses under the European Payments Council (EPC) payment scheme rulebooks was originally expected to end in November 2026. In September 2026, however, the EPC decided to postpone this deadline and continue supporting unstructured addresses until a new end date is determined. The industry is currently discussing extended transition periods that could run well into 2027.

For banks, software providers, and corporates, this provides additional implementation time. However, it does not change the strategic direction. The EPC continues to strongly encourage all market participants to proceed with their migration plans toward structured or hybrid address formats.

Why Are Structured Addresses Becoming Mandatory?

The move toward structured addresses is part of the global ISO 20022 migration and aims to improve data quality throughout the payments ecosystem.

While an unstructured address consists of free-text address lines, a structured address separates individual elements into dedicated fields, such as:

• Street Name
• Building Number
• Postal Code
• Town/City
• Country

This enables payment data to be processed, validated, and screened more efficiently. Structured data improves sanctions screening, compliance checks, fraud prevention, and reconciliation processes, while also increasing straight-through processing (STP) rates and reducing manual intervention.

Hybrid Addresses: A Practical Transition Model

Not every organization can immediately migrate all systems and processes to fully structured address data. For this reason, both the EPC and payment infrastructures continue to support the hybrid address format.

In a hybrid address, key information such as the town/city and country code is provided in structured fields, while additional address details can still be supplied in limited free-text address lines.

For many organizations, this represents a pragmatic migration path, allowing them to meet the most important requirements today while gradually preparing for a fully structured future.

Why Businesses Should Not Wait for the Final Deadline

The extended timeline should not be interpreted as a reason to postpone migration projects. On the contrary, banks and industry bodies continue to recommend that implementation efforts remain on track.

Organizations that adopt structured or hybrid addresses early can benefit from:

• Improved data quality
• Fewer payment exceptions and investigations
• More efficient compliance and sanctions screening
• Better interoperability across international payment networks
• Greater readiness for future regulatory requirements

Conclusion

Although unstructured addresses remain temporarily permissible under the current EPC framework, the long-term direction is clear. The future of payments lies in structured data. Hybrid addresses provide a valuable stepping stone, but fully structured addresses are expected to become the industry standard in the years ahead.

Rather than viewing the extended deadline as a delay, banks, corporates, and software providers should see it as an opportunity to complete their migration strategically and position themselves for the next generation of payment processing.

Sources:

EPC delays address format migration timeline | European Payments Council

EPC guidance document – Provision of Addresses under the EPC Payment Schemes | European Payments Council