Interbank system of Télécompensation

SIT (Interbank System of Télécompensation) is managed by the GSIT, interbank GIE creates in 1983 by 14 large French banks. It ensures the Compensation means of payment of detail (Transfers, Prélèvements, Image accounts - checks, Opérations by Chart,…) between the whole of the banks installed in France. With a volume of 13 billion operations compensated in 2006, the SIT is among the ACH (Automated Clearing House) most important in the world.

Functional architecture

The exchanges are carried out between the Direct Participants by respecting M1 kinematics, m2, m3:

- M1 is a message of bank transactions emitted by the Bank has towards the Bank B,

- One m2 is a message of marked reception emitted automatically by the Bank B towards the Bank has, as of reception of the M1 message

- One m3 is a message of report countable and financial, addressed to the Countable Center of the GSIT, automatically by the bank has as of reception of the message m2.

A M1 message can contain several thousands of operations. Their routing is carried out automatically by the SIT without the transmitting Bank being to be parcelled out as a preliminary its emissions by banks recipients.

Only the banks which exchange at least 0,2% of annual volumes (approximately 30 million operation per annum) have the statute of Direct Participant and are connected to the network (a dozen Bank in 2006); the other banks must then use the services of a Direct Participant to emit and receive their operations on the SIT.

The GSIT, as an agent of compensation, and starting from m3 collected by the Countable Center, proceeds once per day (with 13:30) to the decree of the day of exchange and calculates a multilateral clear compensation between the Direct Participants.

The balances of compensation are then poured with 14:45 with the Banque de France (TBF) which charges the debit balances or credit to the Central Comptes of Payment (JRC) of Direct the Participants banks.

Technical architecture

Conceived in the Eighties, the SIT marked by its technological innovation, while breaking with the logic of the centralized treatments batch which prevailed then.

The SIT is a decentralized system. It allows the exchange the current of means of payment between the Banks Direct Participants connected to the network. The access to the network is carried out by stations (computer, today under UNIX, technically and functionally approved by the GSIT), installed in the Banking Processing centers of the Direct Participants. The exchanges are carried out on the primary distributers of the SIT (VPN under IP). The network is supervised by an Accounts center lodged at the GSIT.

In order to guarantee, a level of very high service all the materials which compose architecture of the SIT are redundant.

The level of service

The exchanges volumes are important more than 50 million operations exchanged on average per working day - close to an operation per day and - with points day laborers with more than 80 million operations and peak hours of 12 million operations. In capital, the equivalent of the GNP is exchanged every 8 working days.

To reach such a volumetry, the SIT is opened with the exchanges 21 hours/24 hours, each working day. The day of Friday is prolonged until midday Saturday. The 3 hours which supplement the day are reserved for work of constraint of end/beginning of day.

With the passing of years, the SIT reached a remarkable level of reliability; the level of necessary service is of 99,80% is a few hours of stop per annum for all the computers of the Centers Communes (Countable Centers, Accounts center.) and the whole of the stations.

This fiabilisation evolved/moved in parallel with the exchange of new means of payment: the payment by charts in 1996, which represent more than 4 billion operations in 2006 - and dematerialization of the Images Accounts - checks - EIC - in 2002 - more than 3 billion operations in 2006.

This evolution has made it possible to completely dematerialize the exchange of the hexagonal means of payment and successively to close for 20 years the Regional Computers of Compensation (OCR), the Computer of Compensation of Paris (OC), the Clearing houses of Province and finally the Clearing house of Paris (CHCP).

To date, only the banking intra-group exchanges (estimated at 20-25% of volumes) are not exchanged on the SIT.

See too

Grouping for an Interbank System of Télécompensation
the interbank system of telecompensation

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