Roadmap for the Real-Time Gross Settlement service beyond 2024

Following last year’s consultation on a roadmap for 2024 and beyond for its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service, the Bank of England has now published its response paper. Therein, the Bank briefly outlines the responses it has received to its consultation and presents its way forward in this matter.
To recall, in 2022 the Bank sought feedback on possible further enhancements of its RTGS service following the upcoming changes to implement the new ISO 20022 for CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System) payments and a new core settlement engine in April 2023 and spring, now fall, 2024, respectively. Some of the proposals included an extension of the operating hours of the RTGS service, the provision of tools to participants to monitor their settlement accounts, or the extension of communication with other settlement systems to enable faster cross-border payments (please see EventID 15890 in this context for more information). Additionally, the Bank asked RTGS participants to state recent industry trends that should receive priority treatment by the Bank.
In the response paper the BoE states that most respondents found the proposed measures to be comprehensive and well-thought of. In fact, the Bank notes that the industry proposed no significant measures beyond those included in the consultation paper. However, respondents also remarked that the consultation paper was not detailed enough about the proposed enhancements and that they would certainly encourage the regulator to further engage with the industry on any upcoming features.
As far as payment and settlement trends and the prioritization of issues are concerned, respondents primarily noted resilience in the market to be of utmost significance. Therefore, all related services outlined by the Bank were ranked as highly important, ranging from the introduction of new a „channel to send and receive payments“, to the support of additional payment APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). Other key area identified by respondents were international, cross-border payments and the facilitation of innovation. The following table depicts the key issues raised by respondents, as outlined by the Bank.
Key priorities identified by respondents

—————-
##### Way forward
The BoE notes that it will continue to work „collaboratively with the industry“ and engage with stakeholder on proposed enhancements to its Real-Time Gross Settlement service. In fact, it will launch industry forums to „enable stakeholders to input into high-level design of the features and inform our cost-benefit analysis. The forums will also provide input to the potential timing and sequencing of delivering priority features“. This launch is expected for the second quarter of 2023.