Queued in CHATS: a Hong Kong RTGS payment short of balance
Trigger: Bank Alfa's CHATS settlement account lacks the balance to cover a high-value HKD payment when it is checked.
What operations sees first: A submitted CHATS payment does not settle at once; it waits in the queue until the settlement account can cover it.
WHERE IS THE MONEY?
No money moved while queued — Bank Alfa's settlement account was untouched until cover arrived.
DID SETTLEMENT HAPPEN?
Settlement was deferred until balance was available, then completed gross on the HKMA book.
WHO ACTS NEXT?
Bank Alfa (sending bank) Bank Alfa manages its settlement-account balance so high-value payments do not queue.
PLAY THE EXCEPTION
Trigger: Bank Alfa's settlement account at the HKMA does not hold HKD 8,000,000.00 at the moment the instruction is checked.
Bank Alfa submits the payment to CHATS
Bank Alfa (paying bank) → CHATS / HKICL · CHATS payment instruction
Bank Alfa sends the payment instruction into HKD CHATS, the Hong Kong dollar real-time gross settlement system. CHATS also clears USD, RMB, and EUR, but this payment runs on the HKD system. Nothing has moved yet — it is a message.
Step 1 of 5: Bank Alfa submits the payment to CHATS
- 02ProcessingCHATS checks the settlement-account balanceCHATS / HKICL
- 04 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessingFunds reach Bank Alfa's accountBank Alfa (paying bank)
- 05 · EXCEPTION PATHSettlementThe queued payment settlesBank Alfa (paying bank) → Nordbank (receiving bank)
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- The beneficiary is paid only once Bank Alfa's settlement account holds enough to settle the queued payment.
- Settlement
- Settlement waited on liquidity — the payment stayed queued until the settlement account was funded.
- Who acts next
- Bank Alfa (paying bank) — Bank Alfa manages its intraday liquidity so high-value CHATS payments do not stall in the queue.
Full step-by-step text (works without JavaScript)
- 02ProcessingCHATS checks the settlement-account balanceCHATS / HKICL
CHATS reads whether Bank Alfa's settlement account at the HKMA holds enough to cover HKD 8,000,000.00. An RTGS payment settles immediately only when there is sufficient balance to settle it.
- 04 · EXCEPTION PATHProcessingFunds reach Bank Alfa's accountBank Alfa (paying bank)
Incoming CHATS payments or a liquidity transfer top up Bank Alfa's settlement account at the HKMA so it can cover the queued outgoing payment.
- 05 · EXCEPTION PATHSettlementThe queued payment settlesBank Alfa (paying bank) → Nordbank (receiving bank)
With enough balance now in the account, the HKMA settles the payment individually across the two settlement accounts, immediately and finally.
- DR Bank Alfa's settlement account at the HKMA — HKD 8,000,000.00
- CR Nordbank's settlement account at the HKMA — HKD 8,000,000.00
- OUTCOME
- Funds
- The beneficiary is paid only once Bank Alfa's settlement account holds enough to settle the queued payment.
- Settlement
- Settlement waited on liquidity — the payment stayed queued until the settlement account was funded.
- Who acts next
- Bank Alfa (paying bank) — Bank Alfa manages its intraday liquidity so high-value CHATS payments do not stall in the queue.
THE TIMELINE
- 01Bank Alfa (sending bank)Submits an HKD 8,000,000.00 CHATS payment for individual gross settlement.
- 02CHATS / HKICLFinds Bank Alfa's settlement-account balance insufficient and queues the payment rather than rejecting it.
CHATS settles a payment only when the settlement account holds enough balance; otherwise it queues the instruction.
- 03Bank AlfaReceives incoming CHATS credits or arranges funds so its settlement account can cover the queued payment.
- 04HKMA (settlement)Settles the released payment individually and gross in central bank money on the HKMA book.
Resolution: The payment is deferred, not lost. Once the settlement account can cover it, CHATS settles it individually and gross.
Sources for this scenario2
- Official requirement
CHATS and the Faster Payment System (FPS) ↗ — Hong Kong Monetary Authority · CHATS queue
FPS is designated as part of HKD CHATS and RMB CHATS; the HKMA provides the settlement book for HKD FPS.
- Simplified educational illustration
Payments Signal editorial teaching models — Payments Signal
What this simplifies: Single-cycle teaching model; participant-specific handling and exact timings vary.
Used wherever diagrams, scenarios, figures, or example values are didactic constructions rather than sourced facts; every such use carries a simplifications disclosure. All people, companies, banks, and list entries in examples are fictional.