The Bank of England (BoE) has launched a consultation on extending the operating hours of its payments infrastructure, as it works towards a long-term objective of near 24/7 settlement.
The proposals by the central bank cover the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) service and the UK high-value payment system CHAPS.
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It comes after the BoE’s earlier announcement to bring forward CHAPS opening times. From September 2027, CHAPS is set to start operating at 01:30 rather than 06:00, subject to confirmation of timelines with affected direct participants.
In its consultation paper, the BoE outlined “next steps” to extend RTGS/CHAPS settlement hours and advance towards its “ambition of near 24×7 settlement”.
The central bank said no decisions have been made and it is seeking industry input on options and sequencing.
The BoE set out two approaches for the next stage. The first would add settlement on a weekend day, most likely Sunday, and enable settlement on certain UK bank holidays. The second would extend the settlement window on existing settlement days.
The central bank is proposing to introduce weekend and bank holiday settlement first, but not before 2029. It would then consider lengthening the operating hours of those settlement days, but not before 2031.
The BoE said: “Our view is that settlement at weekends and bank holidays offers greater risk reduction benefits as well as having greater potential to support innovation in payments and other financial services and should therefore be prioritised.
“We are interested to understand whether respondents support this approach or would prefer a different sequencing.”
It added that the changes are designed to ensure the UK’s payment systems remain aligned with technology developments and can support emerging forms of money, including tokenised deposits and stablecoins.
The changes would extend RTGS to 22×6 operation, providing CHAPS settlement for 22 hours per day from Sunday to Friday. It would also enable participants to undertake liquidity transfers across their own accounts on Saturdays, other than when change windows are scheduled.
For longer-term “near 24×7” operation, the BoE is seeking views on a 22×7 model versus 23.5×7.
BoE further added: “We remain firmly committed to working in partnership with industry to develop a proportionate and well-sequenced path towards extended settlement hours that delivers clear benefits.
“The views and evidence gathered through the responses to this consultation will play a key role in shaping our future policy approach, including the prioritisation of use cases, the appropriate pace of change and the design of the long-term extension option.”
The central bank encouraged respondents to submit an organisation-wide position after consulting relevant internal teams. Responses are due by 10 August 2026.
