The transfer of data across borders is essential to the functioning of the cross-border payments system. Market participants are subject to a range of laws, rules and regulatory requirements as well as technical data standards (“data frameworks”) that relate to transfer of data across borders. 

Enhancing the interaction between data frameworks and cross-border payments is a priority action to move forward the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, which aims to address the challenges that cross-border payments face relative to domestic payments: high cost, slow speed, and insufficient access and transparency. While a certain degree of friction from data frameworks may be a required and acceptable consequence of regulations aimed at preserving the security of transactions, meeting anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and sanctions objectives, and protecting the privacy of citizens, the goal of the Roadmap is to explore whether some of these frictions could be mitigated without compromising on the ultimate objectives of data frameworks. Greater alignment and interoperability of data frameworks would enhance the transfer of payment data across borders, contributing to reaching the targets while improving the safety of payments.

The FSB has initiated a dialogue with, among others, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), sanctions experts, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Global Privacy Assembly (GPA), and national data protection authorities to further understand and collaborate on data frameworks-related issues in cross-border payments.

The proposed panel, drawn from these stakeholders, would discuss the priority areas for cooperation among these stakeholders and how collaboration on data frameworks could improve the speed, cost, accessibility and transparency of cross-border payments. The discussion would focus on the need to safeguard the citizens’ data while ensuring that data is available to appropriately route payments and prevent fraud and financial crime.