European paytech Nexi, together with the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) - Te Pūtea Matua, has upgraded the region’s Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, known as ESAS, to meet Swift standards.
Through this, Nexi and RBNZ seek to ensure full alignment with the latest Swift regulatory and messaging demands. New Zealand’s Exchange Settlement Account System (ESAS), which represents the main high-value payment system leveraged by banks and other financial institutions, comes as a critical part of the country’s economy, having processed USD 25 billion in transactions daily in 2024.
Falling in line with Swift standards
By finishing the four-year upgrade project, Nexi and RBNZ aim to facilitate compliance with ISO 20022, allowing more efficient payments with consistent, structured, and data-rich financial information exchange. With this upgrade, the two organisations ensure that the New Zealand RTGS system now operates on a modern settlement platform while also delivering improved operational capabilities, enhanced transaction efficiency, accuracy, and interoperability, as well as solidifying protection against cyber threats.
Furthermore, commenting on this move, representatives from RBNZ mentioned that the upgrade comes as a significant milestone to New Zealand’s core payment and settlement system, ESAS. The two organisations collaboratively worked on providing a solution that, in addition to meeting global standards, also strengthens the integrity and performance of the country’s core financial market infrastructure.
As a modular service, Nexi’s RTGS solution provides advanced functionality and the flexibility required to adapt Central Bank systems to the specific requirements of individual countries. Talking about the collaboration with RBNZ, Nexi’s officials added that the completion of this project in New Zealand represents the fifth implementation of the company’s RTGS system globally, solidifying its position in the international financial ecosystem and contributing to the stability and security of global markets. The paytech aims to continue to work on RTGS implementations as more financial institutions adopt ISO 20022 for cross-border payments.
