Real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems are specialist funds transfer systems where the transfer of money or securities[1] takes place from one bank to any other bank on a "real-time" and on a "gross" basis to avoid settlement risk. Settlement in "real time" means a payment transaction is not subjected to any waiting period, with transactions being settled as soon as they are processed. "Gross settlement" means the transaction is settled on a one-to-one basis, without bundling or netting with any other transaction. "Settlement" means that once processed, payments are final and irrevocable.

History

As of 1985, three central banks implemented RTGS systems, while by the end of 2005, RTGS systems had been implemented by 90 central banks.[2]

The first system that had the attributes of an RTGS system was the US Fedwire system which was launched in 1970. This was based on a previous method of transferring funds electronically between US federal reserve banks via telegraph. The United Kingdom and France both independently developed RTGS type systems in 1984. The UK system was developed by the Bankers' Clearing House in February 1984 and was called CHAPS. The French system was called SAGITTAIRE. A number of other developed countries launched systems over the next few years. These systems were diverse in operation and technology, being country-specific as they were usually based upon previous processes and procedures used in each country.

In the 1990s international finance organizations emphasized the importance of large-value funds transfer systems which banks use to settle interbank transfers for their own account as well as for their customers as a key part of a country's financial market infrastructure. By 1997 a number of countries, inside as well as outside the Group of Ten, had introduced real-time gross settlement systems for large-value funds transfers. Nearly all G-10 countries had plans to have RTGS systems in operation in the course of 1997 and many other countries were also considering introducing such systems.[3]

Operation

RTGS systems are usually operated by a country's central bank as it is seen as critical infrastructure for a country's economy. Economists believe that an efficient national payment system reduces the cost of exchanging goods and services, and is indispensable to the functioning of the interbank, money, and capital markets. A weak payment system may severely drag on the stability and developmental capacity of a national economy; its failures can result in inefficient use of financial resources, inequitable risk-sharing among agents, actual losses for participants, and loss of confidence in the financial system and in the very use of money.[4]

RTGS system does not require any physical exchange of money; the central bank makes adjustments in the electronic accounts of Bank A and Bank B, reducing the balance in Bank A’s account by the amount in question and increasing the balance of Bank B’s account by the same amount. The RTGS system is suited for low-volume, high-value transactions. It lowers settlement risk, besides giving an accurate picture of an institution’s account at any point in time. The objective of RTGS systems by central banks throughout the world is to minimize risk in high-value electronic payment settlement systems. In an RTGS system, transactions are settled across accounts held at a central bank on a continuous gross basis. The settlement is immediate, final, and irrevocable. Credit risks due to settlement lags are eliminated. The best RTGS national payment systems cover up to 95% of high-value transactions within the national monetary market.

RTGS systems are an alternative to systems of settling transactions at the end of the day, also known as the net settlement system, such as the BACS system in the United Kingdom. In a net settlement system, all the inter-institution transactions during the day are accumulated, and at the end of the day, the central bank adjusts the accounts of the institutions by the net amounts of these transactions.[5]

The World Bank has been paying increasing attention to payment system development as a key component of the financial infrastructure of a country and has provided various forms of assistance to over 100 countries. Most of the RTGS systems in place are secure and have been designed around international standards and best practices.[6]

There are several reasons for central banks to adopt RTGS. First, a decision to adopt is influenced by competitive pressure from the global financial markets. Second, it is more beneficial to adopt an RTGS system for the central bank when this allows access to a broad system of other countries' RTGS systems. Third, it is very likely that the knowledge acquired through experiences with RTGS systems spills over to other central banks and helps them make their adoption decision. Fourth, central banks do not necessarily have to install and develop RTGS themselves. The possibility of sharing development with providers that have built RTGS systems in more than one country (CGI of UK holding the IP, CMA Small System of Sweden, JV Perago of South Africa, SIA S.p.A. of Italy and Montran of USA) has presumably lowered the cost and hence made it feasible for many countries to adopt.[7]

Existing systems

World map with main systems used for large-value payments

Below is a listing of countries and their RTGS systems:

Country System
 African Union PAPSS (Pan-African Payment and Settlement System)[8]
 Angola SPTR (Portuguese: Sistema de pagamentos em tempo real; Real-time Payment System)
 Argentina MEP (Spanish: Medio electrónico de pagos; Electronic Means of Payment)[9]
 Azerbaijan AZIPS (Azerbaijan Interbank Payment System)[10]
 Australia RITS (Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System)
 Bahrain RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement System)[11]
 Bangladesh RTGS (Bangladesh Bank Payment Service Division)
 Barbados CBRTGS (Central Bank Real Time Gross Settlement System)[12]
 Bosnia and Herzegovina RTGS
 Belarus BISS (Belarus Interbank Settlement System)[13]
 Bulgaria RINGS (Real-time Interbank Gross Settlement)
 Brazil STR (Portuguese: Sistema de Transferência de Reservas; Reserves Transfer System)
 Canada Lynx [14]
 China CIPS (Cross-Border Interbank Payment System) [15]
 Chile LBTR/CAS (Spanish: Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real; Real-time Gross Settlement)
 Costa Rica TEF (Spanish: Transferencia Electrónica de Fondos; Electronic Funds Transfer) [16]
 Czech Republic CERTIS (Czech Express Real Time Interbank Gross Settlement System)
 Denmark KRONOS2
 Dominican Republic LBTR (Spanish: Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real; Gross Settlement in Real Time)[17]
 Egypt RTGS[18]
European Union Eurozone TARGET2 (Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer 2)[19]
 Fiji FIJICLEAR[20]
 Hong Kong CHATS (Clearing House Automated Transfer System)
 Hungary VIBER (Hungarian: Valós Idejű Bruttó Elszámolási Rendszer; Real-time Gross Settlement System)
 Georgia GPSS (Georgian Payment and Securities System)[21]
 India RTGS[22]
 Indonesia BI-RTGS (Bank Indonesia Real Time Gross Settlement Sistem)
 Iran SATNA (سامانه تسویه ناخالص آنی, Real-Time Gross Settlement System)
 Iraq RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement System)[23]
 Israel Zahav (Hebrew: זה"ב זיכויים והעברות בזמן אמת; Zahav Real-time Credits and Transfers)[24]
 Japan BOJ-NET (Bank of Japan Financial Network System)[25]
 Jordan RTGS-J[26]
 Kenya KEPSS (Kenya Electronic Payment and Settlement System)[27]
 Korea BOK-WIRE+ (The Bank of Korea Financial Wire Network, 한은금융망)
 Kuwait KASSIP (Kuwait's Automated Settlement System for Inter-Participant Payments)
 Lebanon BDL-RTGS (Banque Du Liban – Real Time Gross Settlement)[28]
 Macedonia MIPS (Macedonian Interbank Payment System)[29]
 Macao RTGS [30]
 Malawi MITASS (Malawi Interbank Settlement System)
 Malaysia RENTAS (Real Time Electronic Transfer of Funds and Securities)
 Mauritius MACSS (Mauritius Automated Clearing and Settlement System)[31]
 Mexico SPEI (Spanish: Sistema de Pagos Electrónicos Interbancarios; Interbank Electronic Payment System)[32]
 Morocco SRBM (Système de règlement brut du Maroc; Moroccan Gross Settlement System)[33]
 Namibia NISS (Namibia Interbank Settlement System)[34]
 New Zealand ESAS (Exchange Settlement Account System)
 Nigeria CIFTS (CBN Inter-Bank Funds Transfer System)
 Pakistan RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement System)[35]
 Paraguay LBTR (Spanish: Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real; Gross Settlement in Real Time)
 Peru LBTR (Spanish: Liquidación Bruta en Tiempo Real; Gross Settlement in Real Time)
 Philippines PhilPaSS[36]
 Poland SORBNET[37] and SORBNET2[38]
 Qatar QPS (Qatar Payment System)[39]
 Russia BESP System (Banking Electronic Speed Payment System)[40]
 Romania ReGIS[41]
 Saudi Arabia SARIE (Saudi Arabian Riyal Interbank Express)[42]
 Singapore MEPS+ (MAS Electronic Payment System Plus)[43]
 South Africa SAMOS (The South African Multiple Option Settlement)[44]
 Sri Lanka LankaSettle (RTGS/SSSS)[45]
 Sweden RIX (Swedish: Riksbankens system för överföring av kontoförda pengar)[46]
  Switzerland SIC (Swiss Interbank Clearing)[47]
 Taiwan CIFS (CBC Interbank Funds Transfer System)[48]
 Tanzania TIS (Tanzania Interbank Settlement)[49]
 Thailand BAHTNET (Bank of Thailand Automated High Value Transfer Network)[50]
 Turkey EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer)[51]
 Ukraine SEP (System of Electronic Payments of the National Bank of Ukraine)[52]
 United Kingdom CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System)[53]
 United States Fedwire
 Uganda UNIS (Uganda National Interbank Settlement)[54]
 Vietnam IBPS[55]
 Zambia ZIPSS (Zambian Interbank Payment and Settlement System)[56]
 Zimbabwe ZETSS (Zimbabwe Electronic Transfer and Settlement System)[57]
 UAE UAEFTS (UAE Funds Transfer System)[58]

In 2010, the World Bank published a report on payment systems worldwide, which investigated these countries' usage of real-time gross settlement systems for large-value payments.[59]

See also

References

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  2. ^ Morten Bech, Bart Hobijn, "Technology Diffusion within Central Banking: The Case of Real-Time Gross Settlement", Staff Report NJ. 260, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Working Paper, September 2007, p. 2
  3. ^ Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems of the central banks of the Group of Ten countries (March 5, 1997). "Real-time gross settlement systems" (PDF). BIS.
  4. ^ Biago Bossone and Massimo Casino, "The Oversight of the Payment Systems: A Framework for the Development and Governance of Payment Systems in Emerging Economies"The World Bank, July 2001, p.7
  5. ^ Swiss National Bank (November 2019). "The Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) payment system" (PDF). Swiss National Bank. p. 3. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. ^ Massimo Casino and Jose Antonio Garcia, "Measuring Payment System Development", The World Bank, 2008
  7. ^ Morten Bech, Bart Hobijn, " Technology Diffusion within Central Banking: The Case of Real-Time Gross Settlement", Staff Report NJ. 260, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Working Paper, September 2006, p. 16–17
  8. ^ https://papss.com/
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  28. ^ "Central Bank of Lebanon website". Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2017-05-03.
  29. ^ "National Bank of Macedonia website". Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  30. ^ "Financial Infrastructure Series 2 - Real-time Gross Settlement System (金融基建系列二—即時支付結算系統)". Archived from the original on 2020-03-13. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
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  33. ^ "Système de règlement brut du Maroc" (PDF). 2016-03-04. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
  34. ^ "Bank of Namibia - Namibia Inter-bank Settlement System (NISS)". www.bon.com.na.
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  37. ^ "Narodowy Bank Polski - Internetowy Serwis Informacyjny". October 9, 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-10-09.
  38. ^ "Narodowy Bank Polski - Internetowy Serwis Informacyjny". nbp.pl. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
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  41. ^ "Banca Naţională a României - Sistemul ReGIS". Bnro.ro. Retrieved 2020-04-18.
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  43. ^ "MEPS". www.mas.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
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  47. ^ "Zahlungssystem SIC". SIX.
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  55. ^ "NHNN - Hệ thống thanh toán điện tử liên ngân hàng". sbv.gov.vn.
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