ISO 20022 will make a big difference to cross-border payments: but it also offers a wealth of other opportunities, which the individual firms can benefit from. While the roadmap is a G20-led initiative, the targets are international, and our goal is to improve payments across all countries and payment corridors. Making progress therefore depends on sharing best practice widely and achieving change worldwide. To that end, the World Bank and IMF, along with the G20 Central Banks, are developing a technical assistance programme available to countries wishing to enhance their national payments infrastructure or policies. We have achieved a lot already but there is still more to do, and much more to gain. We have built the foundations and a framework to support a holistic set of changes. Now we need to act and there is a role for everyone. I look forward to helping to smooth the path ahead in my role as a policymaker and a payment system operator. I hope that many of you will join and play your part in this exciting and transformational journey towards the shared vision that benefits companies, individuals and whole economies through enhanced cross-border payments. I would like to thank Andrei Pustelnikov, Paul Bedford, Anna Koch and Mark Streather for their help in preparing these remarks. 1. See Building blocks for a roadmap to enhance cross-border payments: letter to the G20 2. See Enhancing Cross-border Payments: Stage 3 roadmap 3. See Targets for addressing the four challenges of cross-border payments: Final report 4.
And alongside the Roadmap actions per se, there have been tangible changes that are already paying dividends. Nearly three quarters of payment system operators surveyed by CPMI have either implemented or have concrete plans to implement the latest financial message standard (ISO 20022) by 2025. [5] The Bank of England joined that club last week by moving CHAPS, our high value payment system, to ISO20022. Several jurisdictions have extended the operating hours of their high-value payment systems to near 24/7, including countries as far apart as India, Mexico, Switzerland and indeed South Africa. Over the last two years, several countries have expanded access to their payment systems to new types of financial institution: including Japan, Switzerland and Singapore. Others, such as United States, have developed new guidelines for more transparent and risk-based assessment of account requests. And recent figures[6] show that two-thirds of cross-border transactions that take place via the Swift network reach end beneficiaries within one hour. The private sector is also investing in better infrastructure: almost $ was invested in paytech start-ups last year. [7] Recent survey suggested that 94% of financial institutions are planning to invest in their payment technology in the next 3 years. [8] Africa has a place among the leaders in payments innovation, from new mobile payment technologies with M-Pesa to CBDC with eNaira in Nigeria. The Pan African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS), launched last year, is expanding rapidly: it has nine central banks and 41 commercial banks live on the system.