01 January 2017

European Banking Federation: European Interbank Compensation Guidelines – Revision 2017

In view of the existence of negative interest rates in the euro area, an Appendix has been added giving guidance when the deposit facility rate published by the European Central Bank is below zero.

The Interbank Compensation Guidelines were developed as a recommended basis for the settlement of claims for compensation arising from same day high-value payments in euro made between banks and directed through any euro payment system or CSM located in the European Union.

This common approach to interbank claims has been developed as a support for the banking community and agreed in December 1998, prior to the introduction of the euro, for the categorisation and calculation of interest claims in compensation, be it for misdirected euro-denominated payments or euro-denominated payments sent on the wrong value date.

Since their introduction, the Guidelines have been increasingly used and accepted in the market, showing the need for common compensation rules in the euro area to resolve problems relating to errors made by banks handling payments. They have greatly facilitated the settlement of claims arising between banks when processing euro-denominated payments. The European Interbank Compensation Guidelines have become de facto market practice in the euro area.

Although the terms “bank” and interbank have been retained, these Guidelines are intended to apply, where applicable to all payment service providers as defined by the Payment Services Directive.

Full guidelines

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