ISO 21586-2020 PDF
Name in English:
St ISO 21586-2020
Name in Russian:
Ст ISO 21586-2020
Original standard ISO 21586-2020 in PDF full version. Additional info + preview on request
Full title and description
St ISO 21586-2020 — ISO 21586:2020 — Reference data for financial services — Specification for the description of banking products or services (BPoS). This international standard specifies a structured approach for describing the characteristics of banking products and services from a customer perspective to support comparison, discovery and interoperability of product information.
Abstract
ISO 21586:2020 defines the conceptual model and required/optional elements used to describe banking products or services (BPoS). It groups descriptive elements into required, optional and voluntary categories, describes their purpose and content, and provides guidance on levels of conformity. The standard also defines how key elements may be expressed in logical and physical formats for exchange. The standard is intended to help providers produce clear, comparable product descriptions; it does not set product requirements nor cover securities- or insurance-related products.
General information
- Status: Published (active)
- Publication date: September 2020
- Publisher: International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
- ICS / categories: 03.060 (Financial services)
- Edition / version: Edition 1 (2020)
- Number of pages: 51
Scope
The standard specifies the method and required elements to describe banking products and services from a customer point of view. It covers the purpose and content of key descriptive elements, the categorization of those elements (required, optional, voluntary) and defines conformity levels that indicate how completely a product description covers the model. The scope excludes prescription of the banking product or service itself, and it does not apply to securities or insurance-related products. It is aimed at providers of banking products and services, comparison services, and systems that exchange product reference data.
Key topics and requirements
- Definition of key descriptive elements (grouped as required, optional or voluntary).
- Purpose, content and description approach for required and optional elements.
- Specification of six levels of conformity to indicate coverage and completeness of a product description.
- Guidance on logical and physical formats for expressing and exchanging product description elements.
- Application guidance focused on customer-oriented descriptions; exclusions for securities and insurance products.
- Intended use to support comparability, discoverability and interoperability of banking product information.
Typical use and users
ISO 21586:2020 is used by banks, financial institutions, fintech vendors, product managers, data architects, comparison websites and marketplace operators to create, publish or exchange standardized descriptions of banking products and services. It is also useful for regulators, consumer-protection bodies and system integrators working on product-data interoperability and transparency initiatives.
Related standards
This standard sits within the ISO financial-services portfolio (work of ISO/TC 68). Related documents typically include message and reference-data standards used in banking (for example ISO 20022 and other ISO/TC 68 outputs) as well as national regulatory product-reporting frameworks and industry product-code lists. Implementers often map ISO 21586 elements to existing financial messaging or data interchange formats.
Keywords
banking products, BPoS, reference data, product description, financial services, conformity levels, product metadata, interoperability, ISO/TC 68
FAQ
Q: What is this standard?
A: ISO 21586:2020 is an international standard that specifies how to describe banking products and services (BPoS) using a consistent set of reference data elements so that product information is comparable and exchangeable.
Q: What does it cover?
A: It covers the conceptual model and descriptive elements for BPoS, the classification of elements as required/optional/voluntary, guidance on content and purpose of elements, conformity levels for completeness, and guidance on logical and physical formats for representing the data. It does not prescribe product functionality nor cover securities or insurance products.
Q: Who typically uses it?
A: Banks, financial-services providers, fintech vendors, product and data managers, comparison sites, system integrators and regulators who need standardized, customer-focused product descriptions or who exchange product metadata across systems.
Q: Is it current or superseded?
A: The document was published in September 2020 as the first edition. ISO standards are subject to periodic review (typically every five years); users should check the issuing body's catalogue for any amendments, confirmations or newer editions if precise current-status confirmation is required.
Q: Is it part of a series?
A: ISO 21586 is part of the broader ISO financial-services work programme (ISO/TC 68). While not formally a multi-part series under the same number, it complements other ISO standards for financial reference data and messaging (for example standards produced under ISO/TC 68).
Q: What are the key keywords?
A: Banking products, BPoS, product description, reference data, financial services, conformity levels, interoperability.