XCD correspondent banking: who clears the XCD

Tracing a XCD chain

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

Who clears XCD payments?

XCD settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a XCD payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 21 distinct institutions act as XCD correspondents.

How concentrated is XCD clearing?

The three largest XCD correspondents between them serve about 57% of the banks that publish a XCD 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 XCD correspondent?

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