The Swiss National Bank (SNB) and SIX Interbank Clearing Ltd (SIC Ltd) have jointly set up a new infrastructure – the SIC5 platform – to further develop the Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) payment system in order to process instant payments in central bank funds. This new SIC IP service should also be made available to interested payment schemes for account-to-account (A2A) instant payments in the future. A so-called "Scheme-on-Scheme" (SoS) will regulate the standardized and non-discriminatory access.

Objective and scope of SoS
The main objective is to identify overlapping requirements and specifications of different payment schemes on the basis of a provided initial SoS concept. This common solution framework is to be incorporated into the development process of SIC Ltd for the final SoS design. At the same time, the technical design of the SIC IP service is to be retained and changes that contradict the current design of the SIC IP service should be avoided.

Target scheme interaction
In order to determine the needs of the payment schemes in relation to the SoS, SIC Ltd invites all interested payment schemes to formulate requirements for the SoS for efficient use of the SIC IP service in a joint interaction phase. The interaction phase is essential for the design decisions of the SoS and thus represents a collaborative effort to develop a standardized access. As part of the definition of the scheme design, it is assessed whether and to what extent the requirements and proposals discussed in the interaction phase are implemented.

The process in detail

• Purpose: To collect the requirements of the payment schemes for the design of the SoS. Further information about the process will be made available to the payment schemes after they have registered to participate in the interaction phase.
• Participation: All payment schemes interested in using the SIC IP service can express their interest.
• Registration deadline: Payment schemes are expected to express their interest in participating in the interaction phase by January 31, 2024 at the latest. 
• Timetable: The interaction between SIC Ltd and payment schemes should be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2024.