Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:

• Explain the fundamental architecture and principles of a Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.
• Analyze the flow and legal certainty of payment messages, achieving **finality of settlement**.
• Describe and manage the crucial role of intraday liquidity provision and collateral.
• Evaluate the functionality and impact of Liquidity-Saving Mechanisms (LSMs) on system efficiency.
• Identify and mitigate the key operational, cyber, and legal risks in RTGS operations.
• Understand the role of the central bank as operator, liquidity provider, and overseer of the RTGS.
• Interpret and apply the **CPMI-IOSCO Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures (PFMIs)** to RTGS.
• Formulate an effective business continuity and disaster recovery plan for critical payment infrastructure.

• Central Bank Payment System Analysts and Operators
• Commercial Bank Treasury and Operations Managers
• Financial Market Infrastructure (FMI) Supervisors and Risk Officers
• IT Architects supporting Core Payment Systems
• Compliance and Legal Officers specializing in Payment Law
• Internal Auditors focused on FMI processes

RTGS simulator exercises, Case studies on operational failures, Group project on FMI risk assessment (PFMIs), Technical deep dives into LSM algorithms, Policy debates on intraday credit collateral, Role-playing FMI oversight meetings.

Unit 1: RTGS Foundations and Architecture

• The necessity of high-value payment systems and the concept of gross settlement.
• Core architectural components (settlement engine, interface, liquidity module).
• The role of central bank money in achieving final and irrevocable settlement.
• Comparison of RTGS with Deferred Net Settlement (DNS) systems.

• Detailed flow of a payment message (submission, validation, queuing, settlement).
• The legal concept of **finality** and the moment of settlement irrevocability.
• SWIFT message standards (e.g., ISO 20022 migration) and RTGS interfaces.
• Handling settlement failure and managing non-settled payments.

Unit 2: Liquidity Management and Optimization

• Forecasting and managing the demand for intraday liquidity by participants.
• Central bank provision of intraday credit and the role of collateral.
• Operational procedures for intraday collateral management (pledging, substitution, release).
• Pricing and monitoring the cost of intraday liquidity.

• Types of LSMs: bilateral and multilateral offsetting algorithms.
• Mechanics of queuing, prioritization, and gridlock resolution.
• Measuring the efficiency and performance impact of LSMs.
• Trade-offs between liquidity usage, settlement speed, and operational complexity.

Unit 3: Risk Management and Oversight

• Identifying single points of failure and operational vulnerabilities.
• Cyber resilience and advanced threat mitigation for critical payment systems.
• Implementing robust Business Continuity (BC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) strategies.
• Managing the risk from third-party service providers (e.g., network providers).

• Review of the **CPMI-IOSCO Principles for FMIs (PFMIs)** applied to RTGS.
• The central bank's oversight mandate and surveillance tools.
• Legal basis for participant rules, sanctions, and default management.
• Cross-border aspects and interlinking of national RTGS systems.

Unit 4: Future Trends and Evolution

• Impact of the global shift to the **ISO 20022** messaging standard.
• Potential application of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) in wholesale settlement.
• Using AI for real-time liquidity forecasting and anomaly detection.
• Evolution towards extended operating hours and "always-on" settlement.