Promoting the harmonisation of application programming interfaces to enhance cross-border payments: recommendations and toolkit

The electronic exchange of payment data is vital to contemporary commerce and finance. Application programming interfaces (APIs) are among the latest technological advancement that facilitate these exchanges. They are increasingly used throughout the global financial system for various payment functions, either supplementing or replacing traditional financial messaging to enhance request and response functions.

However, API technical standards are currently fragmented, hindering their potential in cross-border payments and leading to increased processing time and expenses, as well as higher risks of error. The G20 has thus prioritised the harmonisation of APIs to improve the efficiency of cross-border payments. This report presents the recommendations of the API Panel of Experts (APEX), an initiative led by the CPMI that also includes industry participants.

The report makes 10 recommendations directed at a broad array of stakeholders. They are divided into four categories: i) recommendations that aim at facilitating the global API harmonisation processes; ii) recommendations that focus on API design principles and the use of existing international data standards; iii) recommendations to enhance the developer experience; and iv) recommendations to promote pre-validation APIs and implementation.

Each recommendation is accompanied by a list of potential actions that stakeholders may consider as practical and concrete implementation measures. The recommendations are further supported by a toolkit to assist various stakeholders in assessing their current related practices.