Bank of England proposes weekend and holiday settlement for RTGS, CHAPS

The Bank of England has proposed extending the operating hours of the United Kingdom’s core payment settlement systems to include weekends and bank holidays, moving toward near 24/7 availability. The plan, developed in coordination with the Financial Conduct Authority, aims to modernize infrastructure in anticipation of new financial technologies like tokenized assets.

Officials stated the changes are intended to support innovation in payments and financial services, specifically to accommodate newer forms of money such as tokenized deposits and stablecoins. The central bank argued that expanded settlement windows would reduce risk and enable smoother cross-border transactions as tokenized finance becomes more prevalent in wholesale markets.

Under the proposed timeline, Sunday and bank holiday operations for the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and CHAPS systems would not begin before 2029. Initial Sunday hours would run from 1:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., excluding Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, and Easter Sunday. A further extension to longer daily hours on those days is targeted for 2031. This would create a "22x6" operating model, meaning 22-hour daily settlement from Sunday through...