RWF correspondent banking: who clears the RWF

Tracing a RWF chain

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

Who clears RWF payments?

RWF settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a RWF payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 15 distinct institutions act as RWF correspondents.

How concentrated is RWF clearing?

The three largest RWF correspondents between them serve about 52% of the banks that publish a RWF 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 RWF correspondent?

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