The Bank for International Settlements' Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) has published a CPMI Brief setting out practical approaches that central banks and payment system operators have used to extend or align real-time gross settlement (RTGS) operating hours, including transitions toward 24/7 operations. The paper links limited and non-overlapping RTGS hours to settlement delays in cross-border payments and highlights early, sustained stakeholder engagement and gradual implementation as recurring features of successful projects. Drawing on the experience of 14 jurisdictions in the CPMI Community of Practice on Payment Systems, the brief reports that several RTGS systems have extended hours with notable participant uptake, while others are evaluating changes. It cites CPMI monitoring survey results showing that, of 69 RTGS systems responding in 2023, seven already operate 24/7 and a further 18 plan to extend operating hours within the next five years. The brief details operational and technical considerations for extensions, including infrastructure upgrades (often bundled with wider modernisation and ISO 20022 migration), redesign and automation of start-of-day and end-of-day processes and value date conventions, maintenance approaches for near-continuous systems, strengthened operational resilience and recovery arrangements, expanded liquidity management tools and central bank facilities, updated staffing models, and participation models ranging from opt-in to mandatory receiving during extended hours. The CPMI Community of Practice on Payment Systems will continue to provide a forum for central banks that are considering, planning or implementing operating-hours extensions.
Bank for International Settlements - Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures 2025-01-31
Bank for International Settlements' Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures publishes practical approaches to extend RTGS operating hours
The Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures has published a brief on how central banks and payment system operators extend or align real-time gross settlement operating hours, including moves toward 24/7 operations, to reduce cross-border settlement delays. Drawing on experience from 14 jurisdictions and a 2023 survey of 69 systems, it notes that seven RTGS systems already operate 24/7 and 18 plan to extend hours within five years, and sets out key operational, technical, liquidity, resilience and staffing considerations.