Harmonisation and interconnection have been pursued in cross-border payments for decades and despite advances in technology, such as application programming interfaces (APIs) and standards including ISO 20022, fragmentation persists. This has not stopped interlinking projects between payment systems proliferating, however.
In its report to the G20 on the role of APIs in cross-border payments, the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) notes that 14 payment systems surveyed said they could establish additional international links with other payment systems within the next five years.
