science

Swiss Interbank Clearing

Swiss Interbank Clearing is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Swiss Interbank Clearing rather than just read about it. In short: The Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system is a mechanism for the clearing of domestic and international payments. History The development of the SIC started in 1980.

Key takeaways

Swiss Interbank Clearing belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Swiss Interbank Clearing to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Swiss Interbank Clearing from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system is a mechanism for the clearing of domestic and international payments.

History The development of the SIC started in 1980. Since 1987, the SIC system has been operated by SIX Interbank Clearing (100% owned by the SIX Group) on behalf of the Swiss National Bank (SNB). 12 Swiss banks participated in the launch. The SIC was one of the first real-time gross settlement system operating worldwide, following Cedel launched in 1970. In 1990, different priorities were introduced. In March 1995, the system was connected to the Secom system to reduce transaction risks. In 1996, the Swiss Stock Exchange became an electronic trading platform, and the system SWX was developed to link it to the SIC. The repo platform was introduced in 1998, and the settlement of checks was launched in 2000. In 1998, the SNB loosened the conditions to participate to the SIC, allowing non-banks to become participants. A remote access to the system was also allowed to international subsidiaries and joint-ventures. A year later, 63 out of 291 participants were not banks. 556,000 transactions were settled on an average day in 1999 (average total value of 170 billion francs). In 2016, the SIC developed a new ISO 20022-compliant software system for its clearing services. By 2018, the new system was rolled out to all banks in Switzerland, and further international development of the standard was planned. In 2019, the Swiss National Bank launched a new service to clear digital currency transactions, and developed its own blockchain-based digital currency to make this service interoperable with the SIC. The service, which aims to incorporate virtual central bank funds into a distributed ledger technology, was first launched in Switzerland, Singapore and Hong Kong. Fintech startups have access to this service if they have a legal fintech licence and a business model that revolves around payments.

Description By 2018, 325 financial institutions (national and international) participated in the SIC. The system processes an average of 2.4 million transactions every day with an average daily total value of CHF 156 billion. The majority of cashless transactions in Switzerland are settled through the SIC.

See also SIX Interbank Clearing Swiss Euro Clearing Bank Swiss National Bank Clearing house (finance)

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Swiss Interbank Clearing

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Swiss Interbank Clearing claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Swiss Interbank Clearing before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Swiss Interbank Clearing ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Swiss Interbank Clearing

In research: Swiss Interbank Clearing appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Swiss Interbank Clearing in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Swiss Interbank Clearing is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Banking in Switzerland, Finance stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Swiss Interbank Clearing outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Swiss Interbank Clearing in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Swiss Interbank Clearing means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Swiss Interbank Clearing out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Swiss Interbank Clearing in simple terms?

The Swiss Interbank Clearing (SIC) system is a mechanism for the clearing of domestic and international payments. History The development of the SIC started in 1980.

Why does Swiss Interbank Clearing matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Swiss Interbank Clearing?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Swiss Interbank Clearing.