Scheme-on-Scheme Payment Processing

Development of a standard solution for connecting payment schemes to the SIC-IP service

To further develop the Swiss payment system Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC system), the Swiss National Bank (SNB) and SIX Interbank Clearing Ltd (SIC Ltd) have jointly established a new infrastructure - the SIC5 platform - to enable financial institutions to process instant payments (IP) in central bank funds. In future, this new SIC-IP service will also be made accessible to interested payment schemes for their account-to-account (A2A) payments. A so-called "scheme-on-scheme" is intended to regulate standardized and non-discriminatory access for payment schemes.

Execution of instant A2A money transfers 24/7/365

From August 2024, financial institutions in Switzerland will be able to offer their customers instant payment at all times. It only takes a few seconds for a transaction to travel from the payer's account to the payee's account.

Sustainable infrastructure

Provision of an efficient, modern and future-oriented A2A payment infrastructure for Switzerland.

Non-discriminatory access

Non-discriminatory "Leveled Playing Field" access to the basic infrastructure for payment schemes, with the aim of promoting innovation and use cases in the area of A2A payments..

Scheme-on-Scheme – briefly explained

A payment scheme is a set of rules for processing payments. It normally consists of a technical infrastructure and rules that the scheme participants must comply with. The Scheme-on-Scheme project aims to design non-discriminatory access for payment schemes to the SIC-IP service in a standardized and universal way. Access should ensure payment processing with existing or future payment schemes and facilitate the launch of innovative offers.

Measures taken to date to implement the Scheme-on-Schemes

Since fall 2023, SIC AG has been working on the design of a Scheme-on-Scheme solution. In order to determine the needs of payment schemes regarding the processing of payments via Scheme-on-Scheme, SIC Ltd is currently in contact with all payment schemes that have registered for an interaction phase via the SIX website by 31.01.2024. The aim of this interaction is to jointly identify requirements for the Scheme-on-Scheme in order to incorporate these into the final Scheme-on-Scheme concept if necessary.

Status quo and contact for personal questions

Registration for the interaction phase for payment schemes was completed at the end of January. The inclusion of further payment schemes will be considered again at a later date. Following the current interaction phase, the concepts developed are expected to be submitted to a public consultation process from May 2024 to enable feedback from interested parties. The current plan is to publish an initial version of the scheme-on-scheme concept in mid-2024. We will inform you of the exact date here in time.

If you have any questions or suggestions about Scheme-on-Scheme, please contact us using the form below.