Banks worldwide spend over $ a year on financial crime compliance: enriched data is an important ingredient in getting this number to drop. ISO 20022 provides a common language for financial transactions that allows for richer and more structured data. However, making the most of it requires consistent adoption across jurisdictions and using it to transmit a wider set of information than legacy payment messages. Limited or inconsistent uptake could lead to fragmentation. There is no point for me to include a code for the purpose of my payment if my South African counterpart was using a different set of codes. To establish a basic level of consistency, the Joint Task Force of the CPMI and Payments Market Practice Group have consulted on harmonising requirements for enhancing crossborder payments. [15] They received an excellent response and will be announcing the results in the autumn. Another important dimension is the harmonisation of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). Almost two-thirds of the payment systems surveyed by CPMI[16] already offer APIs to their participants. In the UK, our renewed RTGS has this month enabled its first API, with a full-fledged suite of APIs due to be delivered next year. APIs make it easier for payment systems and their participants to exchange data. The number of potential applications is vast. But to deliver real benefits these potential use cases rely on harmonised API standards. The CPMI is convening an industry panel of API Experts (APEX) from private and public sectors, to develop recommendations on the strategic direction for the industry.

[14] Longer and better aligned hours of operation could speed up cross-border payments, reduce settlement risk and simplify liquidity management, and the Bank’s renewed service will have the capability to offer longer hours. But we need to carefully weigh the benefits against the potential cost. These include the costs of opening systems for longer and implementing novel approaches to technology upgrades when the concept of ‘out of hours’ disappears. We also need to consider how it would affect other markets, established market conventions and monetary policy transmission. It will be essential to work closely with the private sector to assess how, and over what timescale, RTGS operating hours could be extended. Changes in hours and access could also support some of the more recent ideas around directly interlinking national payment systems. This would enable payments to be settled directly between two providers, further cutting down the transaction chain. Projects to interlink payment systems are gathering momentum around the globe, building on pioneering experiments through Project Nexus and IXB. In July, the CPMI in cooperation with the Indian G20 Presidency will host an event on interlinking arrangements. The existing projects have shown that interlinking is feasible on a technical level. An arguably tougher challenge is to find the right governance, risk management and oversight models to support a cross-border interlinking arrangement that is robust, resilient and inclusive. The CPMI is preparing an interim report for the G20 on this topic later in the year.