Bank of Zambia Circular 08/2023 on RTGS and ISO 20022 Message Standard Preparedness Before Go-Live

Bank of Zambia
OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY GOVERNOR - OPERATIONS

BOZ/EXEC/DGO/psd/bp

May 8, 2023

To : All Heads of Commercial Banks

CB Circular No. : 08/2023

RTGS/ISO 20022 MESSAGE STANDARD PREPAREDNESS ACTIVITIES BEFORE GO-LIVE

Reference is made to CB Circular Number 03/2020, on the upgrade of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Central Securities Depository (CSD) Systems.

Please be advised that the upgraded RTGS has been delivered to the Bank of Zambia (BoZ) and the Bank has been conducting modular tests of the new system. Further, all commercial banks have subscribed to the SWIFTNet pilot service and connectivity tests using ISO 20022 messages on the upgraded system commenced on March 27, 2023.

In this regard, the Bank would like to advise all commercial banks to implement the following activities in preparation for community testing/User Acceptance Testing (UAT) of the upgraded RTGS:

1. Put in place dedicated resources to conduct UAT. In this regard, each institution is required to provide the BoZ with names, email addresses and phone numbers of the Chief Operating Officer and all key staff that will be conducting UATs;
2. Ensure that all scheduled tests are conducted, and test scripts updated with results and submitted to the BoZ the following day after deadline date of the tests;
3. Ensure that timely meetings are scheduled with the RTGS Operator for support. This is important to ensure that the project is kept on track;
4. Attend the weekly Stand-up Meetings where institutions will be presenting status reports on the agreed tasks with the Operator for the period under review. The weekly meetings will be held every Friday or as and when required. Kindly be advised that status reports for institutions shall be consolidated by the Bank and shared with all market participants;

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Bank Square, Cairo Road, P.O. Box 30080, Lusaka, Zambia Tel:+260-211-399303, 399300, E-mail: dgo@boz.zm. Web: http://www.boz.zm

CB Circular No. 08/2023 - 2 - May 8, 2023

5. Attend the Monthly Forum Meetings which will be held on the last Monday of every month. This is an important engagement where the project team provides status updates on the project, and;
6. Review and validate the test cases in the schedule attached. Please ensure that you review all your work process flows and submit the test cases that have not been included and send back to the Operator by Friday, May 12, 2023. Your institution shall be required to sign-off the finalised scripts that shall incorporate industry’s submissions once finalised by the BoZ.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Project Team on email, zipss.helpdesk@boz.zm, for any clarifications.

[Signature]

Francis Chipimo (PhD)
DEPUTY GOVERNOR – OPERATIONS

cc Governor
Deputy Governor – Administration
General Counsel and Bank Secretary
Director – Payment Systems
Director – Financial Markets
Director – Banking and Currency
Director – Bank Supervision
Director – Strategy and Change Management

Bank Square, Cairo Road, P.O. Box 30080, Lusaka, Zambia Tel:+260-211-399303, 399300, E-mail: dgo@boz.zm. Web: http://www.boz.zm