Statement
The Bank of England welcomes the October 2024 publication of Promoting the harmonisation of application programming interfaces to enhance cross-border payments: recommendations and toolkit. This report to the G20 by the Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) presents recommendations for the development of payment APIs and proposes actions for their implementation. The recommendations have been developed by the CPMI-commissioned ‘API Panel of Experts’ (APEX), a public-private sector collaboration of influential representatives of the payment API ecosystem. APEX is chaired by Will Lovell, Senior Technical Advisor - CBDC, Data & Payments at the Bank of England.
The recommendations in the report and their associated action items are a timely and practical push for increased harmonisation of APIs in cross-border payments. This has the potential to enhance the speed, transparency, and accessibility of cross-border payments in line with the objectives of the G20’s cross-border payments programme.
As an active contributor to APEX, the Bank of England looks forward to continued collaboration with the CPMI and other stakeholders in encouraging greater harmonisation of APIs in cross-border payments. This includes lending support to implementing the report’s recommendations to the greatest extent possible and encouraging other stakeholders to do the same. The Bank of England is also ensuring that the development of its own payment APIs, as part of the future roadmap for RTGS, reflect the recommendations of the report.