The Bank of England has today set out its blueprint for a renewed Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.

The current system is used by credit institutions, such as High Street banks and building societies, to make safe and immediate, high-value monetary transactions.

The new blueprint aims to deliver a service that provides a resilient, flexible and innovative sterling payment system for the UK.

Commenting on the announcement, Hannah Nixon, managing director at the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), said: “The history of payments in the UK has been built on the importance of identifying emerging trends and adapting accordingly to ensure that the British financial infrastructure remains cutting edge. It is fundamentally important to the future of the UK economy that RTGS evolves to meet the ever-changing needs of users.

“As well as strengthening the resilience of RTGS, this blueprint will complement the work of the Payments Strategy Forum and help to ensure wider interoperability. With financial institutions across the globe all working to the same technical ‘language’, the UK can maintain its position as one of the leading innovative financial markets in the world.

“The blueprint will also complement the work we have undertaken on access to payment systems by offering RTGS services to non-bank payment service providers. This will give consumers more choice when it comes to the payment services available to them, with smaller providers able to settle payments with the central bank quickly and safely, allowing them to challenge the big banks on an even playing field.”

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