MUR correspondent banking: who clears the MUR

Tracing a MUR chain

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

Who clears MUR payments?

MUR settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a MUR payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 45 distinct institutions act as MUR correspondents.

How concentrated is MUR clearing?

The three largest MUR correspondents between them serve about 44% of the banks that publish a MUR 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 MUR correspondent?

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