Date of meeting: 21 March 2023
Minutes
Item 1: Welcome and introductions
The Chair welcomed members and provided an overview of the agenda for the meeting.
The Chair walked through actions from the last SAP meeting:
Action 1: The Chair noted the global ISO 20022 migration challenges/impacts and asked to bring this topic back after checking whether there were similar such ‘global coordination’ groups in other sectors outside payments. The Bank of England (the Bank’) suggested to postpone this until the full discussion until the next SAP meeting.
Action 2: The Bank to raise the A1 API workstream and BB15 workstreams on the Joint Regulatory Oversight Committee (JROC) agenda in terms of UK Open Banking Implementation Entity (OBIE). The Bank proposed to discuss it at a future SAP.
Action 3: Update on the Enhanced Data (guidance) in due course. The Bank updated the Panel that a few different items on Enhanced Data are covered in the meeting’s ‘Item 5’ and a further policy update will be provided at a future SAP meeting.
Item 2: A1 Workstream (API framework, principles and standard) – Update and Discussion
The Panel discussed progress on the workstream. The working group is drafting a final version of the document setting out guidance & principles in how to create and maintain UK payment APIs and will share with SAP in the coming weeks (Action 1). Next steps for the workstream will include: 1) to circulate the draft document to SAP when agreed and 2) consult with industry on the guidance & principles.
The Panel generally supported the initiative to draft the API guidance and principles, acknowledging the longer-term solution for industry is to achieve and use ISO 20022 compliant JSON specifications. Hence, it is important to understand and consider the conceptual work underway with different ISO 20022 groups outside the UK and get clarity on the overall ISO-led JSON specification publication timeline.
The Panel also discussed ownership of the final document, noting that SAP is an advisory panel. It is important to find the right ownership beyond SAP. Pay.UK said it would initially consider being the primary “host” of the guidance & principles, once deemed final.
Item 3: Tax Transformation & Fraud Industry Initiative – Update and Discussion
Pay.UK updated the Panel with the latest developments for the Tax Transformation proof of concept (PoC). The PoC provides a potential standard that enables API-based bulk salary payments. The API specification will be published at the end of March 2023, and concludes an extended cycle of work in conjunction with HMRC and several accountancy software providers. The proposal enables UK salary payments paid using Faster Payments (FPS) - currently 45% of UK salary payments are made that way – to be sent as bulk payments. HMRC’s Real Time Information (RTI) can be enabled in the Open Banking without significant changes in the payer’s existing services. Pay.UK is inviting industry including payer organisations and end users - to review the API specification as well as the offer to contact Pay.UK should they express an interest in its implementation.
Pay.UK noted that while the PoC is specific to salary payments, it is cognisant that there might be opportunities to extend it to an international stage in the future roadmap.
They also assured the Panel that the PoC and design has also been cross-referenced to the SAP A1 workstream’s work on API guidance & principles for consistency. And encouraged the Financial Institutions (FIs) to work with them on impact analysis. Following a successful PoC, the aim is to release the standard before the NPA’s live date and assured the Panel that it will be usable with the NPA.
Pay.UK reminded SAP the Phase 1 of Enhanced Fraud Data (EFD) Standard project completed in February 2022 (carried out with UK Finance). It determined several key pieces of the required data and developed a logical data model. The Phase 2 of EFD Standard project (again with UK Finance) followed in Q4 2022, constrained by resource and capacity availability. Pay.UK now plans to publish the EFD standard at the end of March 2023; it will focus on the data points, without detailing any optional or mandatory constraints, or legal risk assessment to the data. A sandbox environment is also ready for testing; it enables feasibility testing of the technical solution. A future plan is to build a standard fully aligned with ISO 20022. Pay.UK welcomes organisations interested in testing the sandbox to contact them. The Chair asked for another update in due course. (Action 2)
Item 4: The report by the Strategic Working Group (SWG) and expected next steps from JROC – Update and Discussion
Pay.UK briefed the Panel on the SWG’s report and invited views from the Panel on the report focusing on any views relating to 1) the next steps and 2) to understand how that future impact might be on the SAP, the Bank and Pay.UK. The Panel discussed the impact of the UK’s approach relative to international comparators and the governance and funding of prospective UK entities.
The Chair asked to reflect back after the April JROC meeting in a future SAP meeting (Action 3)
Item 5: CPMI & Cross-border initiatives – Update and Discussion
The Bank gave the Panel an overview of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) consultation arising from a collaboration between the Payment Market Practice Group (PMPG) and the CPMI. The Bank encouraged industry to respond on the consultation and will host an industry webinar in April with Pay.UK and others. The Panel discussed the implementation of the recommendations in the UK and a global approach to harmonisation across jurisdictions.
Item 6: Using the ISO 20022 standard to implement Enhanced Data – Update and Discussion
The Bank updated the Panel on its strategy related to the implementation of ISO 20022. It presented its implementation roadmap showing 1) a communications campaign direct to end users, 2) a programme of working groups and events with ERP service providers, and 3) establishing a new Enhanced Data working group. Their main priority is currently the CHAPS migration to ISO 20022 but will engage and collaborate with Pay.UK on these initiatives at a later date. The Chair asked for update in future SAP meetings.
Item 7: Any other business
The Bank updated the Panel on work done with the Structured Remittance Data workstream, including the collaboration between the Bank, Pay.UK and sectoral expert groups on producing standardised remittance data guidance for specific use cases.
Close of meeting.
Attendees
[Online meeting by MS Teams videoconference]
Members:
Karen Braithwaite (Chair), Barclays
James Barclay, JP Morgan
James Whittle, Pay.UK
Domenico Scaffidi, Volante
James Southgate, Bank of England
Mike Walters, Form3
Robert White, Santander
Toby Young, Ebury
Ralf Ohlhausen, PPRO
Observers:
Ross Studholme, FCA
Matthew Wallace, Open Banking Implementation Entity
Other attendees:
Bank of England & Pay.UK Secretariat
Bank of England & Pay.UK Presenters
Apologies:
Caroline Stockmann, ACT
Ian Ellis, Payment Systems Regulator
Jo Oxley, Government Banking Service
Hein Wagenaar, Oracle
Fiona Hamilton, Open Banking Implementation Entity