Until recently, only commercial banks10 had direct access to it, and alternative payment service providers (or PSPs) had to route through participating banks. That made sense in the old financial world arranged around a series of hubs and spokes, but it is increasingly anachronistic in the new, distributed finance that is emerging. So we are now making it easier for a broad set of firms to plug in and compete with more traditional providers. In July 2017, we became the first G7 central bank to open up access to our payment services to a new generation of non-bank PSPs. Since then, six have become members, processing over four million transactions over the past year. There is now a growing pipeline of twenty firms looking to join.11 Responding to demands from innovators, the RTGS rebuild will also now provide API access to users to read and write payments data, as well as implementing a system whereby each payment will be tagged with information in a standardised format across the world. This global messaging standard will speed up settlement both domestically and across borders. It is not a one-way street, however. As we extend access, we will safeguard resilience by holding settlement account holders to the appropriate standards. Along with the FCA and HMRC, who together supervise these institutions, we are committed to applying a strengthened supervisory regime for those who apply for an  9  McKinsey Global Payments (2016): strong fundamentals despite uncertain times. As well as Financial Market Infrastructure providers such as Visa.
Christian Noyer: The size of Central Bank balance sheet – how relevant (important) is it? Speech by Mr Christian Noyer, Governor of the Bank of France and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements, at the GIC (Global Interdependence Center)/Bank of France annual seminar “New Policies for the Post Crisis Era”, Session I “Putting a Context on Monetary Policy – On Both Sides of the Pond”, Paris, 23 March 2015. * 1. *  *  A widespread increase in CB balance sheet  In all major economies, Central Banks’ balance sheets have dramatically increased in size and as a percentage of GDP. That movement was temporarily reversed in the euro area, but our balance sheet is set to increase again following the recently decided -and implemented – asset purchase programs, most notably the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP). Since 2007, the aggregate size of central banks’ balance sheets over the world has tripled, reaching the amount of 22 trillion dollars at the end of 2014. Interestingly, this increase has been almost equally split between advanced and emerging economies. In advanced countries, Central Banks have acquired domestic assets. On average, their balance sheets have grown from 10 to 20% of GDP over the last seven years. In emerging economies, accumulation of foreign exchange reserves accounts for most of the expansion.