International Payments Framework
{{update|date=August 2014}}
The International Payments Framework (IPF) was an initiative launched in 2010 to create a global framework for payment processing by the International Payments Framework Association, a trade association headquartered in Atlanta, in the United States.{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Cafaggi|first2=Fabrizio|title=The Governance and Regulation of International Finance|date=2013|publisher=Edward Elgar|location=Cheltenham, UK|isbn=9780857939487|pages=124–25}} The initiative and the association concluded in 2023 after achieving its objectives.{{Cite web |last=PYMNTS |date=2024-05-01 |title=Meet the 2006 Payments Startup That Took ACH Payments Global |url=https://www.pymnts.com/news/cross-border-commerce/cross-border-payments/2024/meet-the-2006-payments-startup-that-took-ach-payments-global/ |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=PYMNTS.com |language=en-US}}
Overview
IPF creates rules, processes, and inter-member agreements that allow IPF's members to minimize the cost of cross-border payments.{{cite journal|last=Bruno-Britz|first=Maria|title=Payments Harmonization|journal=Bank Systems & Technology|date=April 2008|volume=45|issue=4|page=19}} Its members include the United States Federal Reserve{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Cafaggi|first2=Fabrizio|title=The Governance and Regulation of International Finance|date=2013|publisher=Edward Elgar|location=Cheltenham, UK|isbn=9780857939487|pages=126}} and other central banks, as well as other payments industry entities such as financial institutions and ACH operators.{{cite web|title=Our members|url=http://www.ipf-a.org/members.html|publisher=International Payments Framework Association|accessdate=6 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513055220/http://www.ipf-a.org/members.html|archive-date=13 May 2014|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |title=Small Payment Gift Certificate |url=https://www.ticketpanda.co.kr/ |access-date=2024-08-11}}
Comparison
IPF is similar to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) in that both initiatives aim to facilitate international payments, base their standards on ISO 20022, and involve mostly banks as their main participants.{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Cafaggi|first2=Fabrizio|title=The Governance and Regulation of International Finance|date=2013|publisher=Edward Elgar|location=Cheltenham, UK|isbn=9780857939487|pages=126–27}}
IPF differs from SEPA because IPF is global rather than limited to Europe; IPF is market-based rather than a political initiative; IPF involves more public entities, smaller banks, and clearing houses, rather than larger banks; and IPF superimposes a standard that allows existing national standards to communicate with each other rather than replacing them with a new standard.{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Cafaggi|first2=Fabrizio|title=The Governance and Regulation of International Finance|date=2013|publisher=Edward Elgar|location=Cheltenham, UK|isbn=9780857939487|pages=126–28}} Unlike SEPA documentation, which is available on the European Payments Council's website,{{cite web|title=EPC Documents|url=http://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/index.cfm/knowledge-bank/epc-documents/|publisher=European Payments Council|accessdate=6 April 2014}} IPF documentation is not available to the public.{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Geoffrey|last2=Cafaggi|first2=Fabrizio|title=The Governance and Regulation of International Finance|date=2013|publisher=Edward Elgar|location=Cheltenham, UK|isbn=9780857939487|pages=129}}