payment system of banks

One of the main responsibilities of the Banco de Portugal is to provide the economic agents with efficient, immediate and safe payment systems.As is known, the Banco de Portugal is the entity in Portugal that, according to the terms of the European Union (EU) Treaty, issues banknotes and puts into circulation metallic coins used for cash payments.
The new series of euro banknotes integrates the most sophisticated safety elements currently available for paper-money.
The general use of other means of payment, based on demand deposit accounts, forced the central banks to provide the other banks with payment services similar to those provided to their customers. In fact, it is through the deposit accounts which the credit institutions have with the Banco de Portugal - "the bank of the banks" - that interbank and securities settlements are carried out, allowing for the completation of the payments and settlements involving more than one financial institution.
In view of the great development of payments in bank money (bank transfers, cheques, credit cards, debit cards and other means of electronic payment), and the globalisation and internationalisation of the financial markets, their clearing also requires greater automation in order to increase efficiency and safety.
The Banco de Portugal has promoted and closely monitored the automation of the payment systems, and retail payment systems in particular. SICOI – Interbank Clearing System processes retail payment instruments such as: cheques, bills of exchange, TEI (interbank electronic transfers), direct debits and Multibanco. The payment systems in Portugal has achieved a high level of development, which, from the technological point of view, may considered to be as one of the most advanced in Europe.
As to interbank payments of large amounts, the Portuguese real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system, named SPGT (Large-Value Payment System), went into operation in 1996. This system, together with similar systems of the EU Member States and of the European Central Bank, constitute the TARGET - Trans-European Real-Time Gross Settlement Express Transfer System, mainly intended to carry out the operations associated with the single monetary policy.
The Banco de Portugal pledged itself to implement and disseminate the policies presented on “Statement on the role of the Eurosystem in the field of payment systems oversight”, published by the ECB on 21 June 2000 and adopt the “Core principles on sistemically important payment systems”, approved by the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) of the G10 Central Bank Governors and adopted by the Eurosystem in January 2001.
In its Annual Report for 2000, Chapter III.4, Banco de Portugal made public its commitment to the policy principles regarding payment systems.