AOA correspondent banking: who clears the AOA

Tracing a AOA chain

Each instruction names the institution holding that bank's AOA account. Following those links repeatedly ends at a bank that publishes no onward AOA instruction — the ultimate clearer, with direct access to clearing. That is where the money actually settles before moving inwards to the beneficiary.

Who clears AOA payments?

AOA settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a AOA payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 5 distinct institutions act as AOA correspondents.

How concentrated is AOA clearing?

The three largest AOA correspondents between them serve about 71% of the banks that publish a AOA instruction. Concentration matters because the withdrawal of one correspondent can affect a large number of respondent banks at once.

How do I find a bank's AOA correspondent?

Search the bank's BIC, select AOA, and the chain resolves hop by hop to the institution that clears the currency, including the nostro account number on each relationship.