Minutes
Item 1: Introduction
The Bank introduced the first co-creation thematic engagement working group on synchronisation since the terms of reference were refreshed, outlining the group's purpose, structure, and the context of ongoing synchronisation initiatives. The Bank explained that the co-creation working group is intended to gather focused input from industry participants to inform the design of a live synchronisation service, building on previous and ongoing experimentation and policy work. The group will meet in a series of focused sessions over the next few months, with opportunities for questions and feedback.
The Bank provided a comprehensive explanation of synchronisation highlighting the roles of RT2, synchronisation operators, and ecosystem readiness. This is information previously shared, including on What is synchro on the Bank’s website.
The Bank also highlighted the launch of the Synchronisation Lab for hands-on industry testing. This is information previously shared by the Bank. Parallel to technical work, the Bank is addressing policy and design issues such as risk mitigation, regulation, cost recovery, and onboarding processes.
The Bank reminded those attending of the principles for the co-creation group, emphasising group members’ obligations under competition law; and their obligation to treat information received as confidential. This is information previously shared by the Bank in the group’s terms of reference. The group won’t make final design decisions.
Item 2: Design topics for industry input
The Bank outlined the key design topics for industry input, the structure of upcoming meetings, and the mechanisms for collecting and discussing feedback, including questionnaires and thematic discussions.
The Bank listed areas for synchronisation operator input, including settlement design models, earmark lifecycle, transaction timing, contingency planning, and synchronisation flows, as well as account holder-specific topics such as earmarking, transaction prioritisation, and account controls.
The Bank described an approach where meetings introduce topics, followed by questionnaires for input, and subsequent meetings to review and discuss feedback, focusing on thematic issues and trade-offs.
A separate subgroup for account holders is being created to gather focused input on design topics relevant to their needs, with the main group concentrating on synchronisation operators.
Item 3: Attendee input and comments
Attendees raised the earmark lifecycle, including cancellation and timeout functionality, and the governance of settlement models. Questions were also raised about rule books, legal frameworks, and the roles of synchronisation operators and account holders. The Bank confirmed that these would all be discussed in more detail as part of the upcoming series of meetings.
- Specifically, two attendees raised questions about the cancellation of outstanding earmarks, the possibility of intraday timeouts, and whether earmarks could persist beyond a single day; the Bank confirmed these are open design questions for group input, balancing atomic settlement needs with liquidity efficiency.
- Attendees asked whether the Bank would create a scheme rule book for all operators or if operators would define their own governance. The Bank clarified that it would have legal relationships with both synchronisation operators and account holders, but detailed rule books and terms would be managed by operators with their participants (account holders). The Bank plans to discuss this further in an upcoming meeting.
- The Bank explained that input is being sought from both synchronisation operators and account holders, as their perspectives may differ, particularly on topics like earmark lifecycle and liquidity management.
Attendees asked about the regulatory status of synchronisation operators. The Bank confirmed ongoing work with relevant UK authorities to identify risks that synchronisation operators might pose to regulators’ objectives, and to articulate approaches to mitigating those risks.
An attendee inquired about the role for companies that might want to provide technical solutions to synchronisation operators, without themselves being synchronisation operators. The Bank welcomes feedback (including through co-creation) from technical solution-providers and said that synchronisation operators were free to collaborate with them.
An attendee asked about participation for firms looking to become future RTGS account holders; the Bank indicated willingness to consider their input, potentially through bilateral engagement rather than the main account holder group.
The Bank confirmed that meetings will occur approximately every three weeks, with topics and questionnaires introduced in advance, and that slides and minutes will be shared to ensure all participants are informed.
An attendee asked about go/no-go decision points and implementation timelines; the Bank responded that timelines are still being developed, with further details to be shared when available.
Item 4: Summary of actions
- For the Bank to provide an update on the regulatory status and direction of travel for synchronisation operators when more information is available, likely early next year.
- For the Bank to prepare a scene-setting piece clarifying the legal and contractual relationships and rulebook arrangements between the Bank, synchronisation operators, and account holders for future meetings.
- For the Bank to bring back anonymised themes and high-level feedback from the account holder group to the synchronisation operator group, especially where views may differ on topics such as earmarking and liquidity.
Close of meeting.
Attendees
Members:
Rebecca Hall, Chair (Bank of England)
Atumly
Barclays
Baton Systems
Ctrl Alt
HSBC
LMS
Monee
Nationwide
Nuvante
Osttra
Ownera
Swift
The Investment Association
Swift
Transpact
UAC Labs
UK Finance / GBTD
Other attendees:
Bank of England secretariat
Apologies:
Chainlink
ClearBank
LSEG
Muve
Partior
PEXA
Quant Network
Tokenovate