MOP correspondent banking: who clears the MOP

Tracing a MOP chain

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

Who clears MOP payments?

MOP settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a MOP payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 24 distinct institutions act as MOP correspondents.

How concentrated is MOP clearing?

The three largest MOP correspondents between them serve about 45% of the banks that publish a MOP 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 MOP correspondent?

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