Connect the ISO 20022 MCP Server

You’re five minutes from having an AI assistant that knows the entire ISO 20022 specification by heart.

The MCP Server speaks the Model Context Protocol — an open standard supported by all major AI development tools. You configure it once, in a small JSON file, and every conversation in that tool gains instant access to the full specification.

What you’ll need

• An MCP-compatible AI client — Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code with GitHub Copilot, or any other MCP-enabled tool
• mcp-remote — only needed for Claude Desktop (see below)
• A Google account — authentication uses Google OAuth; no separate password or API key

Anonymous access is available without signing in, giving you BasicQueries — enough to browse message names and business areas. Sign in with Google to unlock your tier’s full feature set.

Account creation is coming soon. In the meantime, connect for anonymous access, or contact us to request early access.

About mcp-remote

mcp-remote is a small bridge utility that translates between the stdio protocol that Claude Desktop uses internally and the HTTP/SSE protocol that remote MCP servers speak. It is only required for Claude Desktop.

Claude Code (whether in VS Code, a terminal, or any other environment), Cursor, and most other modern MCP clients connect to remote servers natively — no bridge needed.

If your client is not Claude Desktop, skip straight to the configuration for your tool below.

Configure your AI client

Claude Code (CLI or VS Code)

Claude Code connects to remote MCP servers natively. Add the server from the command line:

claude mcp add iso20022 --transport sse https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse

With an API key:

claude mcp add iso20022 --transport sse https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"

Or add it manually to .claude/settings.json in your project (or ~/.claude/settings.json globally):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iso20022": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop (requires mcp-remote)

1. Install mcp-remote:

npm install -g mcp-remote

2. Edit the config file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Anonymous access (no account required):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iso20022": {
      "command": "mcp-remote",
      "args": ["https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse"]
    }
  }
}

Free or paid account:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iso20022": {
      "command": "mcp-remote",
      "args": [
        "https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse",
        "--header",
        "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving. The iso20022 server will appear in the tools panel.

Cursor

Cursor connects to remote servers natively. Edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json (global) or .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "iso20022": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse",
      "headers": {
        "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Reload the window (Cmd+Shift+P → Reload Window) to activate.

VS Code with GitHub Copilot

Add to .vscode/mcp.json in your workspace, or to your user settings.json:

{
  "mcp": {
    "servers": {
      "iso20022": {
        "type": "sse",
        "url": "https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse",
        "headers": {
          "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_KEY"
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Other MCP-compatible clients

Any client that supports the Model Context Protocol can connect directly. Use these values:

If your client only supports stdio-based servers, install mcp-remote and use the Claude Desktop config pattern above.

Authentication

The MCP server uses Google OAuth for authentication. You do not enter a password or API key manually — instead, your browser handles the sign-in.

What to expect on first connection:

1. Your AI client connects to the server for the first time
2. A browser window opens automatically, showing a Google sign-in prompt
3. Sign in with your Google (Gmail) account
4. The browser confirms the connection and you can close the tab
5. Your client is now authenticated and the tools are available

This flow is triggered by mcp-remote (for Claude Desktop) or by the MCP client itself (for Claude Code and other native clients). It only happens once — subsequent connections reuse the stored credentials until they expire.

If no browser window opens and the connection times out, try running mcp-remote manually in a terminal to trigger the OAuth flow interactively:

mcp-remote https://mcp.beneficialstrategies.com/sse

Verify the connection

Ask your AI assistant:

“What ISO 20022 business areas are available?”

If the server is connected, it will query the live specification and return a structured list of all business areas. If it guesses from training data instead, double-check your config file and restart the client.

For a more thorough check:

“Use the ISO 20022 MCP server to look up the fields in message acmt.001.001.08”

A connected assistant will call the server tool directly and return precise field definitions. An unconnected one will hallucinate.

Next steps