Bank of England/Accenture drive new payment infrastructure
In a recent announcement made by Accenture, the multinational consultant company has been selected to work with the Bank of England to renew the real time gross settlement (RTGS) servic. The partnership will support resilience and innovation for payments and settlements in the UK.
As part of the partnership, Accenture’s role will be the technology delivery partner for the RTGS Renewal Programme. Accenture will work with the Bank of England in order to deliver the critical national payments infrastructure needed.
The RTGS Renewal Programme includes the building and integration of the new RTGS platform, as well as improving data access and support for the financial services sector and their customers in the future.
What is the RTGS?
“The RTGS service is the infrastructure that holds accounts for banks, building societies and other institutions delivering final and risk-free settlement. The service plays a critical role in the U.K. economy, processing approximately £685 billion worth of transactions each working day,” commented Accenture.
The renewed service will be designed in response to the changing structure of the financial system, provide access to a wider number of firms, ensure resilience, provide wider interoperability and improve functionality, and strengthen end-to-end risk management.
The RTGS Renewal Programme will be delivered in multiple transition states in order to minimise the risk and will run until 2025.
“The RTGS Renewal Programme will enable the Bank of England to enhance its critical infrastructure in one of the most important initiatives for the U.K. payments system. The rise of digital and instant payments in recent years has dramatically changed the way we pay, reflecting changes in the needs of households and companies. The renewed system will enable financial institutions to access a more modern and secure payments platform which is fit for the future,” commented Sulabh Agarwal, a managing director at Accenture who leads its global payments practice.
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company. The company provides a range of services including: strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations.
“We combine unmatched experience and specialised capabilities across more than 40 industries – powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centres. Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises.”
About the Bank of England
The Bank of England is the UK’s central bank, one of its main jobs is to ensure that those making payments can make them easily and securely in the UK. The Bank of England also works to keep the cost of living stable and regulate the UK banks and financial institutions.
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