Payments Training Hub
End of day processing PAYMENT OPERATIONS STARTED LIVE 01 End of day processing - begins when the last clearing system closes ACTIVE 02 Team - system confirms it was accepted. QUEUED 03 Close checklist - queues and reports QUEUED 04 Start-of-day - happen before the first customer payment QUEUED 05 Start of day - If any check fails QUEUED 06 Discipline - what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad QUEUED End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes and no new same day payments can be released. Step 1 of 6 End of day processing STARTED End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes ACTIVE Team system confirms it was accepted. QUEUED Close checklist queues and reports QUEUED Start-of-day happen before the first customer payment QUEUED Start of day If any check fails QUEUED Discipline what keeps a bad morning from becoming a QUEUED End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes and no new same day payments can be released.
Team monitors each batch until PAYMENT OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS LIVE 01 End of day processing - begins when the last clearing system closes DONE 02 Team - system confirms it was accepted. ACTIVE 03 Close checklist - queues and reports QUEUED 04 Start-of-day - happen before the first customer payment QUEUED 05 Start of day - If any check fails QUEUED 06 Discipline - what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad QUEUED The team monitors each batch until the system confirms it was accepted. Step 2 of 6 Team monitors each batch until IN PROGRESS End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes DONE Team system confirms it was accepted. ACTIVE Close checklist queues and reports QUEUED Start-of-day happen before the first customer payment QUEUED Start of day If any check fails QUEUED Discipline what keeps a bad morning from becoming a QUEUED The team monitors each batch until the system confirms it was accepted.
Close checklist covers systems PAYMENT OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS LIVE 01 End of day processing - begins when the last clearing system closes DONE 02 Team - system confirms it was accepted. DONE 03 Close checklist - queues and reports ACTIVE 04 Start-of-day - happen before the first customer payment QUEUED 05 Start of day - If any check fails QUEUED 06 Discipline - what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad QUEUED The close checklist covers systems, queues and reports, and every item must be signed off by the team leader. Step 3 of 6 Close checklist covers systems IN PROGRESS End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes DONE Team system confirms it was accepted. DONE Close checklist queues and reports ACTIVE Start-of-day happen before the first customer payment QUEUED Start of day If any check fails QUEUED Discipline what keeps a bad morning from becoming a QUEUED The close checklist covers systems, queues and reports, and every item must be signed off by the team leader.
Start-of-day checks timing PAYMENT OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS LIVE 01 End of day processing - begins when the last clearing system closes DONE 02 Team - system confirms it was accepted. DONE 03 Close checklist - queues and reports DONE 04 Start-of-day - happen before the first customer payment ACTIVE 05 Start of day - If any check fails QUEUED 06 Discipline - what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad QUEUED Start of day checks happen before the first customer payment is released, usually between 6 in the morning and 7 in the morning. Step 4 of 6 Start-of-day checks timing IN PROGRESS End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes DONE Team system confirms it was accepted. DONE Close checklist queues and reports DONE Start-of-day happen before the first customer payment ACTIVE Start of day If any check fails QUEUED Discipline what keeps a bad morning from becoming a QUEUED Start of day checks happen before the first customer payment is released, usually between 6 in the morning and 7 in the morning.
Start of day PAYMENT OPERATIONS IN PROGRESS LIVE 01 End of day processing - begins when the last clearing system closes DONE 02 Team - system confirms it was accepted. DONE 03 Close checklist - queues and reports DONE 04 Start-of-day - happen before the first customer payment DONE 05 Start of day - If any check fails ACTIVE 06 Discipline - what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad QUEUED If any check fails, the start of day is delayed and customers are warned. Step 5 of 6 Start of day IN PROGRESS End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes DONE Team system confirms it was accepted. DONE Close checklist queues and reports DONE Start-of-day happen before the first customer payment DONE Start of day If any check fails ACTIVE Discipline what keeps a bad morning from becoming a QUEUED If any check fails, the start of day is delayed and customers are warned.
Discipline: keeps bad morning PAYMENT OPERATIONS COMPLETE LIVE 01 End of day processing - begins when the last clearing system closes DONE 02 Team - system confirms it was accepted. DONE 03 Close checklist - queues and reports DONE 04 Start-of-day - happen before the first customer payment DONE 05 Start of day - If any check fails DONE 06 Discipline - what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad ACTIVE This discipline is what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad day for thousands of customers. Step 6 of 6 Discipline: keeps bad morning COMPLETE End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes DONE Team system confirms it was accepted. DONE Close checklist queues and reports DONE Start-of-day happen before the first customer payment DONE Start of day If any check fails DONE Discipline what keeps a bad morning from becoming a ACTIVE This discipline is what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad day for thousands of customers.

Key points of this lesson, in order.

0:00 / 3:16 Step 1 of 6

End-of-Day Processing, Close and Start-of-Day Checks

Payment Operations, Lesson 3 of 7, Narration 3:16, D11 Operations, exceptions and reconciliation

Sanctions screeningReconciliationPayment hub

What you will learn

Your objective. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to explain end-of-day processing, close and start-of-day checks. End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes and no new same day payments can be released.

Why it matters. The payment hub stops accepting instructions for the current value date and switches to the next value date, while the operations team runs the closing batches.

Chapter objective: Learner explains payment operations, including daily processing, cut-offs, monitoring, incident handling, and reporting, and builds a daily operations checklist for a payment team. Learner demonstrates this skill using realistic banking examples, explaining each step clearly and using correct terminology throughout.

Key learning points

  • End of day processing
  • Team monitors each batch until
  • Close checklist covers systems
  • Start-of-day checks timing
  • Start of day
  • Discipline: keeps bad morning

Key terms

Sanctions screening: Checking payment parties, countries and references against sanctions lists published by governments and international bodies.

Reconciliation: The process of comparing records from two sources, such as a bank statement and an internal ledger, to confirm they agree.

Payment hub: A central system in a bank that receives payment instructions from all channels, validates them, applies screening and routing rules, and sends them to the correct clearing system or correspondent.

SWIFT MT message viewer showing End-of-Day Processing, Close and Start-of-Day Checks.

Practise this lesson

Exercise

Investigate the reconciliation break described in this lesson and find its root cause.

Use the three-way matching rule and the break categories in this lesson.

  1. What to do. Compare the instruction, the settlement record and the statement, name the break type, and state the corrective action.

Correct result. A break is found by matching amount, currency, date and reference across the three sources. The root cause is a timing difference, an amount difference, a missing entry, or a duplicate, and the corrective action follows the cause.

Why. Reconciliation is the last line of defence. A break that is not investigated is money that cannot be proved.

Check your understanding

Practice question

A payment is due to settle at 3pm but the sending bank misses its cut-off at 2pm. What happens to the payment?

Takeaway and next step

What to remember

This discipline is what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad day for thousands of customers.

Reconcile the payment in this lesson against its statement and find the break.

Open the Accounting and Reconciliation Lab →

Builds on "Cut-Off Management and Processing Calendars".

Transcript and full text

Show transcript

End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes and no new same day payments can be released. The payment hub stops accepting instructions for the current value date and switches to the next value date, while the operations team runs the closing batches. Standing orders due the next morning are generated, direct debit files for BACS are prepared, and bulk files received during the day are settled in batches. A BACS file with 60,000 direct credits worth 42 million pounds is submitted to the clearing system in the evening and settles three working days later, so the timing of the submission is critical. The team monitors each batch until the system confirms it was accepted. Reconciliation at close is the proof that the books balance. The team compares the total value of payments released during the day with the total value debited from customer accounts and the total value settled through each clearing system. If the bank released 1.2 billion pounds through CHAPS, the CHAPS settlement account must show exactly 1.2 billion pounds paid out, and the customer accounts must show the same total debited. Any difference, even of one pound, is investigated before the day can be closed. The team also reconciles the nostro accounts by matching the internal ledger against the MT950 or camt.053 statement received from each correspondent bank, such as JPMorgan Chase in New York for US dollars. The close checklist covers systems, queues and reports, and every item must be signed off by the team leader. The checklist asks whether all exception queues are below the agreed limit, whether any payment above 500,000 pounds is still held, whether all SWIFT messages have been acknowledged, and whether the fraud and sanctions systems are in a healthy state. The team produces the daily operations report, which lists total volumes by channel, straight through processing rates, the number of payments repaired manually and the value of payments carried forward. That report goes to senior management every evening, and a copy is kept for audit for at least seven years. Start of day checks happen before the first customer payment is released, usually between 6 in the morning and 7 in the morning. The team confirms that core banking opened cleanly, that the payment hub is connected to every channel, and that the SWIFT gateway shows a green status for the SWIFT network. The team checks the overnight nostro balances, for example a US dollar nostro account with Citibank in New York holding 24.6 million dollars, and confirms that there is enough liquidity for the morning payments. The team also checks that the reference data loaded overnight is correct, including new SWIFT codes, new sanctions lists and any changes to cut-off times. If any check fails, the start of day is delayed and customers are warned. A failed start of day check is handled with a fixed escalation path, not with a quiet workaround. The analyst who finds the failure logs it, calls the technology support team and informs the operations manager within fifteen minutes. If core banking is unavailable, the hub holds all new payments in a queue rather than risking a double debit. If the sanctions screening engine is down, no payment is released until the engine returns or compliance approves a manual check. The team records the delay, the impact on customers and the time the system recovered, and the incident is reviewed the next day. This discipline is what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad day for thousands of customers.

End of day processing begins when the last clearing system closes and no new same day payments can be released. The payment hub stops accepting instructions for the current value date and switches to the next value date, while the operations team runs the closing batches. Standing orders due the next morning are generated, direct debit files for BACS are prepared, and bulk files received during the day are settled in batches. A BACS file with 60,000 direct credits worth 42 million pounds is submitted to the clearing system in the evening and settles three working days later, so the timing of the submission is critical. The team monitors each batch until the system confirms it was accepted.

Reconciliation at close is the proof that the books balance. The team compares the total value of payments released during the day with the total value debited from customer accounts and the total value settled through each clearing system. If the bank released 1.2 billion pounds through CHAPS, the CHAPS settlement account must show exactly 1.2 billion pounds paid out, and the customer accounts must show the same total debited. Any difference, even of one pound, is investigated before the day can be closed. The team also reconciles the nostro accounts by matching the internal ledger against the MT950 or camt.053 statement received from each correspondent bank, such as JPMorgan Chase in New York for US dollars.

The close checklist covers systems, queues and reports, and every item must be signed off by the team leader. The checklist asks whether all exception queues are below the agreed limit, whether any payment above 500,000 pounds is still held, whether all SWIFT messages have been acknowledged, and whether the fraud and sanctions systems are in a healthy state. The team produces the daily operations report, which lists total volumes by channel, straight through processing rates, the number of payments repaired manually and the value of payments carried forward. That report goes to senior management every evening, and a copy is kept for audit for at least seven years.

Start of day checks happen before the first customer payment is released, usually between 6 in the morning and 7 in the morning. The team confirms that core banking opened cleanly, that the payment hub is connected to every channel, and that the SWIFT gateway shows a green status for the SWIFT network. The team checks the overnight nostro balances, for example a US dollar nostro account with Citibank in New York holding 24.6 million dollars, and confirms that there is enough liquidity for the morning payments. The team also checks that the reference data loaded overnight is correct, including new SWIFT codes, new sanctions lists and any changes to cut-off times. If any check fails, the start of day is delayed and customers are warned.

A failed start of day check is handled with a fixed escalation path, not with a quiet workaround. The analyst who finds the failure logs it, calls the technology support team and informs the operations manager within fifteen minutes. If core banking is unavailable, the hub holds all new payments in a queue rather than risking a double debit. If the sanctions screening engine is down, no payment is released until the engine returns or compliance approves a manual check. The team records the delay, the impact on customers and the time the system recovered, and the incident is reviewed the next day. This discipline is what keeps a bad morning from becoming a bad day for thousands of customers.

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