Bank of England picks Accenture as RTGS renewal partner
The Bank of England (BoE) has appointed Accenture as a partner for the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service renewal programme.
The RTGS timeline extends into 2025
The decision follows a public procurement process which started in February 2019. Accenture and the BoE will work on the development and refreshment of the RTGS system.
RTGS is the infrastructure that holds accounts for banks, building societies and other institutions.
BoE describes RTGS as the “backbone” of the UK’s payments system, and settles an average of £685 billion a day.
BoE says the renewal is necessary as the payments industry is “dramatically” different.
An expanded RTGS system involves improved resilience and access, wider interoperability, improved user functionality and greater end-to-end risk management.
“This is a key milestone in our ambitious and exciting programme to renew RTGS,” says Victoria Cleland, executive director for banking, payments and innovation at BoE.
Moving in stages
The RTGS Renewal Committee governs the programme. On its team are two non-executive members, two RTGS board members, and BoE’s chief operating officer.
Currently undergoing transition stage one (TS1), the renewal is will move to TS2 by the end of the year. TS3 and core RTGS replacement planned for 2021-2022.
The renewal programme “will enable the BoE to enhance its critical infrastructure in one of the most important initiatives for the UK payments system,” says Sulabh Agarwal, who leads Accenture’s global payments practice.
“The rise of digital and instant payments in recent years has dramatically changed the way we pay.
“The renewed system will enable financial institutions to access a more modern and secure payments platform which is fit for the future.”
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