Straight-through processing (STP)
Straight-through processing (STP) is the automated handling of a payment from initiation to settlement without manual intervention. Unstructured addresses are a leading STP killer; structured addresses enable reliable parsing, validation and screening. Industry cross-border STP baselines sit near 40%, while ioNova ARS achieves ~98% automatically and >99% with the Exceptions Workbench.
How Straight-through processing (STP) works in practice
The point-of-entry validation shift makes STP the operational battleground: rejected payments no longer queue for downstream repair — they bounce back as exceptions. The EPC’s value statement links structured addresses to error reduction, more accurate screening and better reconciliation, which together drive the higher STP rates.
Source: the ioNova Postal Address Specification v2.0 glossary (STP); §7.1 Table 12; §8 (EPC value statement); ioNova compare hub (40% → ~98% journey).
Parent reference: The business value of structured addresses.
Sources
Standards & regulatory sources
- Harmonised ISO 20022 data requirements for enhancing cross-border payments — updated report — BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), 26 February 2026.
ioNova reference material
- ioNova ISO 20022 Postal Address — Requirements and Specifications v2.0, May 2026 — ioNova reference work consolidating the sources above. Request the specification in a demo.
- ioNova 25-criterion evaluation framework — industry ~40% baseline vs ~98% automatic, >99% with the Exceptions Workbench.
See ioNova ARS in action
The complete ISO 20022 Postal Address — Requirements and Specifications Update 2026 consolidates the CPMI harmonisation requirements, the BIS PIE taskforce report, the PMPG Hybrid Postal Address whitepaper and the EPC address guidance into a single reference.
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