On 29 April 2022, the Bank of England (BoE) issued a consultation paper seeking views on what features market participants would like to see investment in for the next stage of roadmap for Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) beyond 2024.
The BoE is in the process of renewing the RTGS service, with the move to enhanced ISO 20022 messages in April 2023 and a new core settlement engine due to be introduced in Spring 2024. It would like to hear from a wide range of existing and future users of the RTGS service as well as other stakeholders for beyond 2024.
In the long-term, the BoE wants the renewed RTGS service to act as an open platform for the UK financial services industry to facilitate safe and efficient settlement in central bank money. It will accommodate a wide range of participants, diverse means of connecting and enable new links to other systems. This will enable participants to offer cheaper, faster and safer payments for their customers. There are three areas in which the BoE is focusing its efforts, and seeking industry views, to further enhance RTGS beyond 2024: new ways to connect, innovative and flexible settlement services and world-class resilience. These are further considered in sections 2, 3 and 4 of the consultation paper.
The deadline for responding to the consultation paper is 30 June 2022. The BoE will analyse the responses to its consultation and publish a feedback summary in late 2022. This will include initial thoughts on how to prioritise the delivery of new features. The BoE will then develop a roadmap, with the expectation that implementation will be gradual, through consistent close engagement with the industry.
On the same date, the BoE published a consultation paper reviewing the RTGS and CHAPS tariff framework. The consultation proposes a new framework for the RTGS and CHAPS tariffs, including recovering the costs of building the renewed RTGS service as well as running RTGS and CHAPS. The deadline for comments on the consultation is also 30 June 2022. The BoE plans to hold two Q&A sessions for respondents. The BoE is also happy to meet bilaterally with key stakeholders to discuss how its proposals could specifically impact them.