SIC system offers participants a round-the-clock service on all bank working days, during which time settlements can be made for around 23 hours. An SIC day begins at 5.00 p.m. and ends at 4.15 p.m. the following bank working day. Between 5.00 p.m. and 3.00 p.m. the following day payment orders can be processed without restriction. Following "clearing stop (or cut-off) 1" at 3.00 p.m. – i.e. 75 minutes before the end of the SIC day – payment orders which are then still being entered are automatically given the next day as their settlement date. During the period of one hour up to "clearing stop 2" at 4.00 p.m. participants whose payments could not be executed for lack of cover by "clearing stop 1" can obtain the necessary liquidity on the money market or from the SNB. At 4.15 p.m. ("clearing stop 3") the time-slot for resorting to special-rate repos (also known as the "liquidity shortage facility") ends. SIC participants have no further opportunity to obtain liquidity. Pending payments are deleted and have to be input again.
The SIC day concludes with the end-of-day processing. The system then deletes all pending payments that may still be in the holding file. If they are still to be processed, the bank concerned must give them a later settlement date and input them again.
Opening times
