The Czech National Bank (CNB) will provide access to its CERTIS payment system to new applicants. Besides banks and other credit institutions, non-bank institutions will also be able to use the infrastructure, which enables reliable and secure money transfers between the payer and the payee and – in the case of instant payments – in just a few seconds.
Non-bank institutions will be able to join CERTIS on the date the amendment to Act No. 370/2017 Coll., on the Payment System, takes effect.[1] This is expected to happen on 9 April 2025.[2]
In the meantime, however, „the CNB will allow applicants to test the system’s functionalities, so that they can prepare for participation in CERTIS in advance. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions may start filing preliminary applications for connection to the system once the central bank publishes the revised CERTIS rules.” – the CNB explained.
The CNB will update the rules following the approval and publication of the amendment, which was approved by the Senate on 22 January 2025 and is yet to be signed by the President.
Non-bank institutions will operate within the CERTIS system under conditions similar to those applied to banks, but their accounts in CERTIS will serve exclusively for payments and cannot be used for other purposes, in particular for safeguarding clients’ funds. Otherwise, the participation of an institution in CERTIS will be terminated for serious breach of contract. Further, these institutions will not be able to obtain intraday or other credit, and will be assessed to determine whether they meet the conditions set out in the Payment System Act specifically for such institutions.
CERTIS (Czech Express Real Time Interbank Gross Settlement System) is used to process non-cash payments in Czech koruna. If both the payer and the payee have accounts at the same bank, the money transfer (account settlement) is processed directly within that bank’s system. If the payer and the payee have accounts with different banks, the payer’s bank must use the CERTIS interbank payment system for the transfer of funds.
CERTIS began operation on 8 March 1992 within the Clearing and Settlement Centre at the State Bank of Czechoslovakia in the former Czechoslovakia. It is currently operated by the Czech National Bank. In 2024, CERTIS processed more than 983 million items with a total value of CZK 386.5 trillion. The system thus processed on average 3.9 million transactions a day, totalling more than CZK 1.5 trillion. One in three payments was processed as an instant payment, based on the payer’s choice, in just a matter of seconds.
[1] The amendment to Act No. 370/2017 Coll., on the Payment System, will transpose the changes implemented by Regulation 2024/886 on instant credit transfers in euro (the IPR) into the directives on settlement finality and payment services. At the same time, it will enable payment institutions and electronic money institutions based in the Czech Republic or another EU or EEA country to participate in the CERTIS payment system.
[2] Senate Print No. 31 – a draft law amending certain laws in connection with the implementation of the European Union’s legislation in the area of the digitalisation of the financial market and sustainability financing (available in Czech only).
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