to give consumers control of their data. this would allow consumers to move their personal information from one platform to another and avoid lock - in effects, opening the door to new services. 19 to some extent, this is what open banking hopes to achieve. although to make this a success means establishing common off the - shelf api standards and operating platforms onto which developers can build. an open platform for sme lending would enable open banking and empower smes. it would help avoid lock - in on existing platforms and enable providers of finance to compete for sme lending, helping to broaden the products available to companies and offer more competitive rates, making access to finance quick, easy and cost effective. 20 it is not for the bank of england to build this platform but we can help lay some of groundwork. the messaging standards we are adopting in the new rtgs will also include tagging payments with a unique id called a legal entity identifier ( lei ). 21 this will be mandated for financial institutions and as a next step we are considering how to extend this to corporate payments. that could mean that the payment data sent via chaps of non - financial firms could be made available for inclusion in a portable credit file. the lei could see : furman, j ‘ unlocking digital competition ’ report of the digital competition expert panel ( march 2019 ). see : https : / / www. bankofengland. co. uk / research / future - finance. the introduction of legal entity identifiers ( leis ) will enable consistent and accurate identification of legal entities on a global basis. their introduction was pioneered by the financial stability board ( fsb ) following the financial crisis as a means of precisely identifying counterparty risks and exposures. the lei is linked to a publically available database about each registered entity. leis are not yet widely used in payments or supply chains. following a consultation, the bank is making leis mandatory for all payments initiated between financial entities. all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches also act as the unique identifier for a digital id, which could help the two - step verification process required for a secure system. the bank will submit a formal response on how to develop an open platform for competitive sme finance to the smart data review referenced by the chancellor this evening. strengthen resilience in the face of new risks the city of london has maintained its pre - eminence

back - stop ’ provider of liquidity, and can therefore provide liquidity insurance to the financial system, promoting financial stability. oliver wyman : fintech 2. 0 paper : rebooting financial services ( june 2015 ) and mckinsey : global payments report ( 2016 ). all speeches are available online at www. bankofengland. co. uk / news / speeches retailers. as designed, libra may substantially improve financial inclusion and dramatically lower the costs of domestic and cross border payments. 15 the bank of england approaches libra with an open mind but not an open door. unlike social media for which standards and regulations are being debated well after they have been adopted by billions of users, the terms of engagement for innovations such as libra must be adopted in advance of any launch libra, if it achieves its ambitions, would be systemically important. as such it would have to meet the highest standards of prudential regulation and consumer protection. it must address issues ranging from anti - money laundering to data protection to operational resilience. libra must also be a pro - competitive, open platform that new users can join on equal terms. in addition, authorities will need to consider carefully the implications of libra for monetary and financial stability. our citizens deserve no less. leveraging our position at the heart of the international financial system and one of the world ’ s largest fintech hubs, the bank of england will help lead the way on these issues at the g7, g20, the fsb, bis and imf. whatever the fate of libra, its creation underscores the imperative of transforming payments. the bank ’ s strategy to open access to a wide range of payment solutions combined with appropriate regulatory oversight of them maximises the likelihood that the payments revolution will meet the demands of the new economy and the needs of all our citizens. supporting more lending to smes through an open platform big data is opening up new opportunities for more competitive, platform - based finance of smes. artificial intelligence ( ai ) and machine learning ( ml ) techniques are already mining fields of data generated by online activity. this has the potential to yield enormous benefits for households and businesses by opening up new lines of credit, providing greater choice, better - targeted products and keener pricing. putting data to work is critical to closing one of the biggest funding gaps in the country. smes are the engine room of our economy, generating around 60 % of all private sector employment