On 20 August 2024, SIX Group officially launched SIC Instant Payments (SIC IP), Switzerland's new instant payment service enabling real-time CHF transfers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The launch brought Switzerland in line with other European markets that had already implemented instant payment infrastructure.
Background
Switzerland had been a notable absence in the European instant payments landscape. While the UK launched Faster Payments in 2008, SEPA Inst went live in 2017, and Sweden's Swish had been operational since 2012, Switzerland's domestic payment infrastructure remained batch-based for retail transactions.
SIC (Swiss Interbank Clearing), operated by SIX Group and owned by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), had been the country's core interbank payment system since 1987. It settled payments in real-time but was designed for interbank and high-value flows, not for instant retail transactions with 24/7 availability.
How SIC IP Works
SIC IP was built as an extension of the existing SIC infrastructure. Payments are processed and settled individually in central bank money (CHF) at the SNB, with a maximum execution time of 10 seconds. The system operates continuously, including weekends and Swiss public holidays.
The initial transaction limit was set at CHF 500,000, a relatively high ceiling compared to many instant payment systems globally, reflecting the high-value nature of the Swiss market.
Significance
Switzerland's late entry into instant payments meant it could learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions. SIC IP was designed with ISO 20022 messaging from the outset and integrated with the existing SIC infrastructure rather than requiring a separate system. The settlement in central bank money addressed counterparty risk concerns that had been debated in other markets.
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