ICBC joins Payments NZ
20 Jun 2014
Payments NZ Limited has announced the admission of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (New Zealand) Limited (ICBC) into its High Value Clearing System (HVCS), effective from today.
“We are excited to welcome ICBC as the eleventh Participant in the HVCS, and look forward to the new perspective and experiences they will bring to the HVCS Management Committee,” says Steve Wiggins, Chief Executive of Payments NZ.
“HVCS Rules and Standards cover how large financial transactions are cleared and settled quickly, and with certainty. HVCS settlements are not limited to just wholesale payments between financial institutions. They can also be used by an individual bank customer for large transactions such as house settlements or purchasing a car.”
“One of Payments NZ’s objectives is to help payments organisations to join its clearing systems based on fair and reasonable public access criteria. We’re particularly pleased to have worked with the Reserve Bank and existing participants to facilitate ICBC’s admittance,” says Mr Wiggins.
Participants in the HVCS benefit from the additional legal certainty provided by the HVCS Rules and Procedures, which ensure that all Participants apply consistent business processes when sending and receiving HVCS payments, such as standardised message formatting, operating hours, customer experience, business continuity planning, and procedures for dealing with mistaken transactions.
By becoming an HVCS Participant, ICBC will join the existing ten participants on the HVCS Management Committee, which approves the development and implementation of any new HVCS rules. The Committee is also responsible for providing leadership and advocacy to the industry.
Payments NZ’s High Value Clearing System includes Participant organisations are ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd, ASB Bank Ltd, Bank of New Zealand, Citibank N.A., Deutsche Bank A.G., The Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd, Kiwibank Ltd, New Zealand Depository Ltd, TSB Bank Ltd, Westpac NZ Ltd.
The HVCS is one of four payment clearing systems managed by Payments NZ, which is responsible for maintaining the payment rules and standards by which its Participants must legally abide.
About Payments NZ Limited and the HVCS:
Payments NZ is an independent organisation responsible for leading change in the payments industry, and maintaining the domestic payment rules to ensure New Zealand has world class payment systems that deliver safe, efficient, and innovative payment methods.
The HVCS covers high value payments made through the Reserve Bank between banks or customers, which are settled faster than other inter-bank payment methods, and are unable to be reversed. This additional speed and security make HVCS transactions popular with certain customer groups, such as lawyers who use the Same Day Cleared Payment (SCP) product for property settlements.
Contacts:
Sam Prescott
Telephone: +64 4 460 2383 | Mobile: +64 21 112 2974
Johanna McIntosh, Communications Manager Payments NZ
Telephone: +64 09 927 4236 | Mobile: +64 21 677 014