Building block 13: Pursuing interlinking of payment systems for cross-border payments

Interlinking arrangements for payment systems allows banks and other payments service providers to transact with each other, without requiring them to participate in the same payment system or use intermediaries (eg correspondent banks). Such arrangements can shorten transaction chains, reduce overall costs and increase the transparency and speed of payments. The emergence of new technologies and an increasing degree of standardisation are further enabling technical interoperability, laying the groundwork to enhance future interlinking arrangements.

Objective

There are numerous benefits to pursuing interlinking arrangements. These include efficiencies derived from shortening transaction chains, harmonisation of data formats and further facilitating data exchanges through the use of dedicated applications. Cost efficiencies may be found by reducing operational funding costs and streamlining essential compliance checks. This in turn is expected to increase competition in the provision of cross-border payment services. Furthermore, depending on the design of the interlinked systems as well as the interlinking arrangement, there are further opportunities for cross-border settlement risk to be reduced.

Progress

• In 2021 the CPMI surveyed central banks and conducted a stocktake and analysis of existing and potential interlinking models. This study provided a stylised classification of existing and potential models and an evaluation of the benefits and risks of each model.
• The report to the G20 on interlinking and APIs was published in July 2022 and presented at a workshop on cross-border payments and interoperability at the Festival Ekonomi Keuangan Digital Indonesia (FEKDI) 2022.