The bank has already announced an early morning extension that will see CHAPS open at 01:30 (instead of 06:00) from September 2027.

The bank said extending settlement hours is “an important part of delivering its vision of a safe and resilient multi-money ecosystem” where different kinds of money can coexist and interoperate across infrastructure.

It added that the extension of settlement hours has the potential to drive meaningful benefits for both users of financial services and financial institutions by:

• Maximising the benefits from innovation, such as synchronisation
• Making cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more efficient by expanding the overlap with other RTGS systems, thereby extending the global settlement window
  improving liquidity efficiency.

The bank said that while no decision on the next steps had been taken, the next phase of extension could include an additional settlement day on weekends – most likely on Sundays – alongside settlement on certain UK bank holidays and lengthening the settlement window on existing settlement days.

The Bank of England is seeking input on the use cases and benefits that matter most, the practical constraints of delivery and the sequencing and timelines that would maximise net benefits.

Interested parties are invited to discuss the proposals with impacted departments and submit a response by 10 August.