Summary
Date of meeting: 4 June 2026
Item 1: Welcome, introductions and context
The Chair introduced the first RTGS CHAPS Industry Forum. This group will meet regularly to provide industry input on a range of strategic issues relating to both the live operation and change roadmap for the RTGS and CHAPS services operated by the Bank. Topics will typically be brought while the Bank’s thinking is still developing, for early input and shaping. The Forum terms of reference are published on the Bank’s website. The Forum will not cover retail payments and wider wholesale innovation, except to the extent that it impacts on the Bank’s delivery and industry’s use of the RTGS and CHAPS services.
Item 2: Change – overall narrative and environment
The Bank set out relevant context for change plans for the RTGS and CHAPS services. The RTGS Renewal Programme has provided a strong foundation for ongoing change, with RTGS lying at the heart of an ecosystem anchored in central bank money, with interoperable and trusted infrastructure in which the private sector can innovate knowing they are building on a stable, coherent and predictable public sector foundation. The change roadmap for RTGS is shaped to respond to and support safe private sector innovation, while maintaining the resilience of the service. The Bank also summarised the work completed in the past year since the go-live of the renewed RTGS service, noting a focus on fixing minor defects present at go-live, developing roadmaps for future development, and policy and design work for future strategic enhancements.
Members confirmed that this was a positive narrative that resonated with them. They asked what lessons had been learned from the RTGS Renewal Programme. The Bank referenced the positive reports by the National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee, noting in particular that the Bank was continuing to invest significant time and resource upfront to identify clear scope and objectives for ongoing change, including with internal and external stakeholders, before moving to delivery.
Other comments included the need to consider opportunities to join up resilience workstreams with other industry initiatives (eg Pay.UK resilience work) as well as innovation and data streams with ongoing work being co-ordinated by UK Government on improvements to and digitalisation of the home buying process. Members also raised the importance of continued improvements to the user experience and discussed the benefits and challenges of using purpose codes in payments to support operational resilience.
Item 3: Change – priorities, sequencing and timings
The Bank shared a high-level roadmap for change to the RTGS and CHAPS services, covering both functional enhancements and strategic change.
- 2026 largely focuses on ongoing functional changes to ensure the continued stability of the service as well as delivering the foundations for future change.
- 2027 focuses on work to support the opening of CHAPS from 1.30am from September 2027, further API functionality and preparations for a live synchronisation service.
- 2028 and beyond sees delivery of a number of significant strategic improvements including further extending settlement hours and operational resilience benefits through improved network resilience and settlement contingency.
Members supported these plans, which covered the main enhancements they were expecting. There was significant discussion around the level of change both RTGS and other change initiatives would require across industry, the need for participants to respond to this, including via changes to business and operating models, as well as the impact that these changes could have on liquidity management, which will be a topic for a future meeting.
Other points raised included the need for early signposting enhancements such as APIs to enable RTGS participants to secure investment funding to integrate APIs and realise the benefits, and the possible use of APIs to support delivery of some of the longer-term strategic plans.
Item 4: Strategy – near 24/7 settlement hours
The Bank explained the work it has done on extending settlement hours. The Bank has already announced that it will be opening CHAPS from 1.30am from September 2027 and has recently published a consultation paper that sets out the vision for moving towards near 24/7 settlement, seeking industry input to determine the optimum path and timing for implementation.
Members were pleased that industry was being given the opportunity to input on this important topic via the consultation. They confirmed that extending hours near 24/7 was the right direction of travel, but noted that risks were large, and the impact to industry was significant. This would be a big cultural shift, with success being dependent on wider change across the financial sector. They flagged some of the benefits of this change, including how this could enable wider benefits when combined with other change projects (eg digitalisation of property transactions). Extending hours in the early morning was seen as a sensible first step.
There was substantive discussion about when the value date should cut-over, and whether this should be aligned to the calendar date or after CHAPS close earlier in the evening, with members raising implications for cross-border traffic and benefits of international alignment. Members also raised considerations around resolution and market stress.
Item 5: Any other business
The Bank provided a brief update on retail fraud – with a claim limit of £85k in place since October 2024, aligned with that for Faster Payments.
- Industry had agreed a way forward for claims management and reporting for FPS. The Bank expected the current arrangements to remain in place for CHAPS including the use of email/spreadsheet for reporting claims rather than a more complex system in light of the low volume of claims.
- Frontier Economics are carrying out an independent evaluation of the Payment Systems Regulators’ authorised push payment fraud policies. Once the review has concluded the Bank will work with the Payment Systems Regulator on potential implications for CHAPS.
Close of meeting.
Attendees
Members:
Michael Jones, Chair (Bank of England)
Akshat Sharia (HSBC)
Alex Loyden (JP Morgan)
Beth Rudolf (Conveyancing Association)
Chloe Jenkins (Barclays)
Doug Peel (Goldman Sachs)
Emma Hagan (Clearbank)
James Hockin (Nationwide)
Jason Roberts (Santander UK)
Jon Rushton (Modulr)
Jo Oxley (Government Banking Service)
Mark Goree (Fnality)
Martin Beed (Northern Trust)
Naresh Aggarwal (Association of Corporate Treasurers)
Simon Eacott (Natwest)
Simon McConnell (Citibank)
Thair Hanif (Al Rayan Bank)
Vishal Majithia (Coventry Building Society)
Zachary Rakestraw (UBS)
Other attendees:
Jackie Keogh – Independent Member of RTGS CHAPS Board
Noel Gordon – Senior Independent Member of the RTGS CHAPS Board
Bank of England standing attendees, secretariat and presenters for specific items
Apologies:
Paul Miles (EUI)
Stuart Bailey (Lloyds)