UGX correspondent banking: who clears the UGX

Tracing a UGX chain

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

Who clears UGX payments?

UGX settles through the local clearing system. Banks without direct access hold a nostro account with a correspondent that has it, so a UGX payment reaches the beneficiary by settling at that correspondent first and moving inwards. In the current dataset 42 distinct institutions act as UGX correspondents.

How concentrated is UGX clearing?

The three largest UGX correspondents between them serve about 40% of the banks that publish a UGX 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 UGX correspondent?

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