Peru instant payment system to debut in 2023

Riding the coattails of the success PIX enjoyed in Brazil, other Latin American countries are developing their own instant payment systems. But while in Brazil the development of the system was spearheaded by the Central Bank (and imposed on big banks), Colombia and now Peru have opted for the private route.

Peruvian clearing house Cámara de Compensación Electrónica (CCE), an organization owned by 15 financial institutions and responsible for all bank-to-bank electronic transactions in the country, has been making partnerships with major global financial providers to take its infrastructure to the next level.

Prior to the inception of the CCE in 2000, the Peruvian Central Bank (BCRP) managed the clearance of checks, transfers, debits, and bills manually. Entrusting the work to a corporation that has the country’s largest financial institutions as shareholders was the fastest way the monetary authority found to digitize these transactions and reach international standards.

In 2018, CCE signed a major partnership with Mastercard subsidiary Vocalink to transform its servers — previously limited to operating on working days — into 24/7 payment rails. The company was chosen for its experience in developing rapid payment structures in the United Kingdom and U.S.

Last year, another partnership was signed with Vocalink to further develop CCE’s Immediate Interbank Transfers (IIT), created in 2016. This time, another global payment provider, ACI Worldwide, was also brought in as part of the agreement. It is through ACI that partner banks can access Mastercard’s instant payment service. 

CCE is currently migrating its operations from IIT to the new partnership in what is the first step to integrating all players into a single...