The Bank of England has confirmed that CHAPS settlement hours will extend from the current 06:00 start to 01:30, effective September 2027.
What's Changing
CHAPS currently operates from 06:00 to 18:00 UK time on business days. The extension will push the opening time back to 01:30, adding 4.5 hours of settlement capacity to the early morning window. The closing time remains unchanged.
Participation Rules
Sending: Participation in the early morning window (01:30-06:00) will be optional. Direct participants can choose whether to submit payments during these hours. Receiving: All direct participants must be able to accept incoming CHAPS payments from 01:30. This is mandatory - no opt-out. Existing hours: The current 06:00-18:00 window remains fully mandatory for all direct participants.
Why It Matters
The extension aims to: Strengthen liquidity management: Banks can settle obligations earlier, reducing intraday liquidity pressure Improve operational resilience: Longer settlement windows provide more time to recover from operational incidents Align with international markets: Better overlap with Asian and Australasian market hours for cross-border flows Support post-trade settlement: Earlier settlement supports T+1 securities settlement timelines
Timeline
September 2027: Extension goes live
Transition period: Industry testing and operational readiness throughout 2027 Current state: Consultation complete, policy statement published
Context
This is part of the Bank of England's broader RTGS Renewal programme, which has already delivered ISO 20022 migration (June 2023) and is working toward a new core settlement engine. The hours extension represents the next major milestone.