Reserve Bank open letter on proposal to designate the High Value Clearing System
28 Jan 2026
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand Te Pūtea Matua (RBNZ) has sent an open letter to Payments NZ regarding its proposal to recommend the designation of the High Value Clearing System (HVCS) under the Financial Market Infrastructures Act 2021.
Payments NZ manages three core payment clearing systems in Aotearoa New Zealand, including HVCS. While we don’t own or operate payments infrastructure, we’re responsible for the rules, standards, and procedures that govern these systems – helping ensure payments in Aotearoa are exchanged and settled securely, efficiently, and consistently.
HVCS is used for large-value payments, such as property settlements and interbank transactions. These payments are highly secure, processed in real time, and cannot be reversed once made. HVCS participants use a dedicated Swift-based system to exchange these payments, which are settled via the RBNZ’s Exchange Settlement Account System (ESAS).
The RBNZ's open letter can be viewed here.
The RBNZ is seeking further submissions from Payments NZ, HVCS participants, and other HVCS stakeholders on the topics raised in the open letter, including the HVCS rules and compliance costs related to designation.
Submissions are open until 5:00pm on 20 March 2026. You can submit your feedback through the RBNZ consultation portal here.