SNB launches new generation of the SIC5 payment system
Published: Thursday, Dec 14th 2023, 10:40
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The Swiss National Bank (SNB), together with its stock exchange subsidiary SIC AG, launched the new generation of the central Swiss payment system - known as SIC5 - on November 17. According to the SNB, this new system generation is changing the way payments can be processed in Switzerland.
"In future, private individuals and companies will be able to make electronic payments from account to account around the clock in a matter of seconds thanks to instant payments - even at weekends and on public holidays," said SNB Director Thomas Moser as part of the monetary policy assessment on Thursday.
Financial institutions would now connect to the system and start offering this functionality to their customers from August 2024 at the latest. Until now, customers have only been able to make an immediate and final value transfer with cash. Thanks to Instant Payments, this is now also possible for electronic payments.
"Both private individuals and companies benefit from this," says Moser. The advantages include the immediate availability of credit notes and therefore better opportunities for automating processes, simplified liquidity management and reduced settlement risks.
According to the SNB, the launch of SIC5 represents an "important milestone in the development of Swiss payment traffic". It was made possible by the close cooperation between the SNB, SIC Ltd and financial institutions and reflects the "great commitment of these parties to the future viability of Swiss payment traffic". The SNB is convinced that instant payments will become the "new standard in electronic payment transactions".
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