Malaysia's central bank improves interbank settlement system

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's central bank said Tuesday that it has launched RENTAS+, an enhancement to the country's real-time gross settlement system (RTGS).

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said in a statement that, built in-house using modern cloud technology, the system enables continuous interbank funds transfer and settlement 24 hours a day throughout the year and is the first RTGS system in the ASEAN region to do so.

The expansion of the settlement system's window enables financial institutions to better manage credit and settlement risks arising from rapidly growing retail instant payments through continuous settlement of retail payment transactions.

It is noted that since 2024, Malaysia's daily retail payment transaction volume and value have grown by 49 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

To facilitate round-the-clock settlement, the BNM has also introduced a 24-hour automatic liquidity facility using repurchase agreements and sell and buy-back agreements.

"RENTAS+ strengthens the resilience of Malaysia's financial market infrastructure, while providing a secure, scalable, and flexible settlement platform for future innovations," BNM Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said. Enditem