DTCC Settlement Transformation FAQ

For more information about Settlement, please see the Settlement section of the Learning Center.
For information specific to the transformation, please see the Settlement Release page.

The DTCC Equities Settlement Transformation will enable a more agile, resilient, and scalable settlement processing platform. It simplifies workflows, enhances client services, leverages industry standards, and improves performance, security, and scalability across Equities Clearing and Settlement services.

Changes to Settlement Services include several enhancements and simplifications, including innovations such as support for the settlement of partial deliver orders, expanded data fields on client messages, and simplification of client profiles and settlement workflows to drive greater transaction throughput. Additionally, DTC will introduce an enhancement to mandatorily reintroduce unsettled transactions (fails), and the reclaim linking processes will be eliminated.

DTCC is also upgrading client connectivity options to support distributed connections and lightweight messaging, simplifying client interactions through standardized interfaces. Notably, the new settlement system will support ISO 20022–only interfaces through distributed messaging (MQ IPT) and file channels (SFTP, "Secure File Transfer Protocol").

The modernized settlement system (Settlement Transaction Manager, STM) will go live in Q3 2027. Testing in PSE for the modernized application—including Partial Settlement functionality and modernized connectivity and interfaces—will begin on September 30, 2026.

In addition, early adoption of ISO 20022 in the current Settlement platform will be available in the Production environment on November 13, 2026, with Production Support Environment (PSE) testing for this early adoption beginning on July 6, 2026.

Yes. DTCC is moving off the mainframe to a distributed infrastructure. Connectivity changes will impact both message and file connections.

  1. Connect to new Queue Managers (QMgrs) on the distributed Message Queue (MQ) service
  2. Migrate files to distributed Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP)
  3. Provide the required network details, along with TLS certificate Distinguished Name (DN) information and onboarding documentation.

Connectivity details are published in the Client Test Plan, which is available in the DTCC Learning Center on the Settlement Release page.

Yes. ISO 20022 will be the required settlement message format. Proprietary and ISO 15022 formats will be decommissioned in Q3 2027, with ISO 20022 available earlier for Production Support Environment (PSE) testing Q3 2026 and production use in Q4 2026.

Proprietary and ISO 15022 settlement message formats will no longer be accepted. All settlement messages must be in ISO 20022.

Settlement Message Specifications are available on the DTCC Learning Center's Settlement Release page.

DTCC has provided an ISO 20022 Test Facility to validate message format and schema prior to User Acceptance Testing (UAT) Functional Testing.

Enhancements to Settlement include support for partial settlement, automated reintroduction and drop processing, and simplification of RAD, pend processing, reclaim, and deliverer authorization workflows. You are encouraged to review the Functional Change Document for detailed information on these Settlement changes.

Clients should review the Functional Change Document, participate in the DTCC Transformation Integration Webinar Series, and use interface and profile summary reports provided by DTC.

Members can request individual profile reports by visiting DTCCTransformation.com, clicking the Contact Us button, and choosing “Settlement Profile and/or Client Interface Usage Reports” as the inquiry type.

Automatic reintroduction of unsettled transactions will not eliminate failed transactions. However, when transactions do fail, DTC will report an unsettled status on any transaction that does not settle by the end of the processing day and will indicate whether the transaction is being automatically reintroduced for settlement processing on the next business day. DTC will continue to reattempt settlement for 30 business days after the last partial settlement of the transaction.

Yes, both delivering and receiving Members will need to reauthorize reintroduced transactions before they will be processed by DTC.

Partial authorization and partial Receiver Authorized Delivery (RAD) approval are optional. Auto‑partial processing is mandatory for most Deliver Order (DO) transactions once matched, with the following transactions initially exempt:

  1. Securities with an active reorganization
  2. Account Transfer transactions
  3. Securities Finance transactions, including stock loans and repurchase agreements
  4. Money Market Instruments (MMI)
  5. Deliver Orders (DO) with the “prevent pend” indicator

Settlement value is prorated based on shares and total transaction value, with rounding differences included in the final partial transaction.

No reapproval is needed for same‑day partials once matched; reintroduced portions on the next business day must be rematched.

Yes, Members will continue to be able to cancel any unsettled transaction.

Yes. Partial transactions must comply with minimum and multiple trading restrictions.

Yes. Members can request detailed profile usage reports through the DTCC Transformation Contact Us form or email address.

UTI will be supported but will NOT be a required field.

APIs are offered based on industry demand, with further validation ongoing through working groups.

DTCC hosts industry virtual events, like the DTCC Transformation Insights series and the DTCC Transformation Integration Series, on a regular basis, and periodically publishes materials on DTCC Transformation and the DTCC Learning Center. Additionally, there are DTCC Transformation client checklists for functional changes and for Settlement milestones. Clients are encouraged to use these resources regularly and to sign up for the virtual events.

Expect more information relating to the DTCC Equities Clearing & Settlement Transformation to be published on DTCCTransformation.com and DTCC Learning. Should you want to contact a DTCC representative in the interim, please contact your Relationship Manager or submit questions to the DTCC Transformation team.

Only valued pledge activity is subject to authorization; free pledge transactions are passively approved .

Reclaim transaction matching will stop in Q3 2027.

DTC will allow members to establish separate active and passive profiles for:

  • Matched Institutional Transactions (MITs)
  • Late Matched Institutional Transactions (LMITs)
  • Reintroduced Drops
  • CNS® obligations
  • Same-day settling CNS® obligations
  • All other Deliver Order (DO) transaction types

Unsettled transactions will be reintroduced for 30 business days after the last partial settlement.

Only unsettled Deliver Order (DO) transactions will be automatically reintroduced, excluding securities lending‑identified DOs.

No. Profiles can be updated now and clients are encouraged to do so ahead of Q3 2027 to reduce implementation risk.

Yes. DTC provides Member interface reports that show current subscriptions and target‑state impacts. Please reach out to the DTCC Transformation team or your Relationship Manager to request this data.

Yes. Migration can occur by transaction, transaction type, or account, with mixed proprietary and ISO messaging supported during transition.