6  3  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/speeches/default.aspx  3  But many of the data standards currently used across the payments chain are either a legacy standard or not a standard at all – a bespoke format originally created for an internal processing system a generation before the internet. In today’s connected world, there are huge benefits to be gained from the whole payments chain moving to international standards which, when implemented properly, provide a seamless flow of data from one end to the other. Enter the standards produced by the International Organisation for Standardisation, ISO. Across technology and manufacturing it has produced over 24,000 standards for business and government to follow. I am going to focus on two today - ISO 20022 and how we plan to implement it for payments in the UK, and also ISO 17442, more commonly known as the Legal Entity Identifier – an important tool that can be carried within an ISO 20022 payments message. ISO 20022 consultation Given its characteristics, data standards are one area where we, as the Bank, can only do so much on our own. And this brings us back to why we are here today. In June this year, together with the PSR and Pay.UK, the operator of the retail payment schemes, we launched an ambitious consultation on our vision for implementing ISO 20022 in the major UK payment systems.
See: http://www.fsb.org/2012/06/fsb-report-global-legal-entity-identifier-for-financialmarkets/ 12 For example, in the charity sector, being able to quickly establish the identity of other international organisations, and cross-check with permissions granted under sanctions licenses, should make sure that humanitarian funds go to the correct recipient quickly. Likewise government could have the ability to more closely track contract awards and also make it easier to bring SMEs into tendering processes by establishing an accurate picture of smaller firms and their identities. It will also help financial institutions to improve existing AML checks, by being able to identify the full range of entities involved in the payments chain, which will provide a broader social benefit globally by helping stop fraud and terrorism. 5  All speeches are available online at www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/speeches/default.aspx  5  Because of the benefits the Bank sees in LEIs, our consultation response outlined that we will make them a mandatory feature of transactions between financial institutions in CHAPS. But in order to unlock the LEI’s full potential we need to encourage the adoption of LEIs amongst all those who use payment messages, not just within the financial services industry, but in all sectors of the economy, including corporates. The opportunity of the infrastructure upgrade as part of RTGS Renewal, and similar opportunities in future, could provide the appropriate levers to encourage this broader take up of LEIs - to maximise the benefits of this public good.