XAF correspondent banking: who clears the XAF

Tracing a XAF chain

Each instruction names the institution holding that bank's XAF account. Following those links repeatedly ends at a bank that publishes no onward XAF instruction — the ultimate clearer, with direct access to clearing. That is where the money actually settles before moving inwards to the beneficiary.

Who clears XAF payments?

XAF settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a XAF payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 53 distinct institutions act as XAF correspondents.

How concentrated is XAF clearing?

The three largest XAF correspondents between them serve about 36% of the banks that publish a XAF instruction. Concentration matters because the withdrawal of one correspondent can affect a large number of respondent banks at once.

How do I find a bank's XAF correspondent?

Search the bank's BIC, select XAF, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.