Instruction No. 11/2025 on the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI)

Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17 Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
..................................................................................................................................................................................................
Index
Text of the Instruction
I – SCOPE OF APPLICATION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS II – CLEARING AND FINANCIAL SETTLEMENT OF OPERATIONS III – PROVISION OF SERVICES BY THE BANK OF PORTUGAL WITHIN THE SCOPE OF SICOI IV – PRICE LIST V – OTHER PROVISIONS
Annex I - Governance model of the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI
Annex II - SICOI Monitoring Committee
Annex III - Schedule of clearing and deferred financial settlement closures and hours
Annex IV - Procedures relating to cheque clearing
Annex V - Reasons for cheque return
Annex VI - Determination of the amount of the value reserve to be established by the direct participant to guarantee its clearing balances in the subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement
Annex VII - Framework agreement for the opening of credit with guarantee of financial instruments and credit rights in the form of bank loans within the framework of the guarantee fund account mechanism of the Interbank Clearing System in TARGET-PT
Annex VIII - Framework agreement for financial guarantee for operations in the immediate transfers subsystem
Annex IX - Terms and Conditions of the Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation service
Annex X - Terms and Conditions of the Beneficiary Verification service
Annex XI - Price list and penalties to be applied to participants in the clearing and financial settlement subsystems
Text of the Instruction
Subject: Regulation of the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI) This Instruction aims to regulate the clearing and financial settlement of operations processed in the clearing and settlement subsystems of the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI) and the provision of services by the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI. The Bank of Portugal carries out, through SICOI, the clearing and financial settlement of operations processed in the clearing subsystems of: cheques, commercial bills, direct debits, credit transfers, immediate transfers and payment operations based on cards. The clearing and financial settlement of the cheque, commercial bill, direct debit, credit transfer and card-based payment operation subsystems are carried out on a deferred basis. In the immediate transfer subsystem, clearing and financial settlement are carried out in real time. Within the scope of SICOI, the Bank of Portugal provides ancillary services related to the processing of payment operations, which are also regulated by this Instruction, namely the Account Derivation Identifier service - which allows the initiation of payment operations with a user identifier - and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation – which allows the confirmation of the beneficiary/debtor of payment operations (PLCP service); and the Beneficiary Verification service (VoP service), which allows the verification of the beneficiary of SEPA, traditional or immediate credit transfers, in compliance with Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012 (SEPA Regulation). Adherence to the PLCP service, as described in this Instruction, is a condition for participation in the immediate transfer subsystem, in the SEPA aspect of the credit transfer subsystem and in the direct debit subsystem of SICOI. Participants in the immediate transfer subsystem and in the SEPA aspect of the credit transfer subsystem of SICOI must use the VoP service of the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI. The Bank of Portugal also makes the VoP service available to payment service providers who are not participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI. The respective Annexes and the operating manuals of the subsystems and services that make up SICOI form an integral part of this Regulation. I – SCOPE OF APPLICATION AND GENERAL PROVISIONS

Recipients
The recipients of this Instruction are:
a) participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI; b) adherents to the services provided by the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI; and c) the entity processing the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI.
Object
This Instruction aims to regulate the clearing and financial settlement of operations processed in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI and the provision of services by the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI.
SICOI Subsystems
3.1. The Bank of Portugal carries out, through SICOI, the clearing and financial settlement of operations processed in the clearing subsystems of:
a) Cheques; b) Commercial bills; c) Direct debits; d) Credit transfers; e) Payment operations based on cards; f) Immediate transfers.
3.2. The Bank of Portugal carries out deferred clearing and financial settlement of the operations processed in the clearing subsystems referred to in points a) to e) of paragraph 3.1.
3.3. The Bank of Portugal carries out real-time clearing and settlement of the operations processed in the clearing subsystem referred to in point f) of paragraph 3.1.
3.4. In the cheque clearing subsystem, cheques and related documents expressed in euros are presented, according to types and codes defined in the respective operating manual, drawn on any payment service provider participating in the subsystem, subject to the exceptions provided for in Annex IV.
3.5. In the commercial bill clearing subsystem, commercial bills expressed in euros, payable at any payment service provider participating in the subsystem, are presented, which are physically retained by the acquiring participant.
3.6. In the direct debit clearing subsystem, direct debit collections expressed in euros, payable at any payment service provider participating in the subsystem, are presented. This subsystem comprises the SEPA CORE and SEPA B2B aspects.
3.7. In the credit transfer clearing subsystem, credit transfer orders expressed in euros, payable by any payment service provider participating in the subsystem, are presented. This subsystem comprises the Non-SEPA and SEPA aspects.
3.8. In the card-based payment operation clearing subsystem, operations processed between participants, expressed in euros, are presented, namely withdrawals, transfers, payments and deposits.
3.9. In the immediate transfer clearing subsystem, payment orders expressed in euros, payable by any payment service provider participating in the subsystem, are presented, with immediate availability of funds to the beneficiary.
Services provided by the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI
Within the scope of SICOI, the Bank of Portugal provides, to adhering entities, the following services:
a) Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation (PLCP), which includes the functionalities of:
i. Account Derivation Identifier – Proxy Lookup (PL);
ii. Single Beneficiary Confirmation – Confirmation of Payee Single (CoPS);
iii. Bulk Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation – Confirmation of Payee/Payeer Bulk (CoPB);
b) Beneficiary Verification – Verification of Payee (VoP).
Participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems
5.1. Eligible for participation in the SICOI subsystems are banks, savings banks, the Central Credit Union for Mutual Agricultural Credit, mutual agricultural credit unions and other credit institutions authorized to carry out activity in Portugal, even under the regime of free provision of services.
5.2. The Bank of Portugal may also consider other entities eligible for participation in the SICOI subsystems.
5.3. Except in exceptional cases, mutual agricultural credit unions that are part of SICAM (Integrated System of Mutual Agricultural Credit) are not considered participants in the SICOI subsystems, as they process their operations through the Central Credit Union for Mutual Agricultural Credit.
Adherents to the services provided by the Bank of Portugal
6.1. Eligible for adherence to the services provided by the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI are payment service providers authorized under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market.
6.2. The Bank of Portugal may also consider other entities eligible for adherence to the services provided by the Bank of Portugal.
6.3. Except in exceptional cases, mutual agricultural credit unions that are part of SICAM are not considered adherents to the services provided by the Bank of Portugal, as they process their operations through the Central Credit Union for Mutual Agricultural Credit.
II – CLEARING AND FINANCIAL SETTLEMENT OF OPERATIONS A - TYPES AND CONDITIONS OF PARTICIPATION
Types of participation in the SICOI subsystems
7.1. Participation in the SICOI subsystems can be carried out directly or indirectly.
7.2. Participation in one subsystem does not require participation in other subsystems.
Conditions for direct participation in the SICOI clearing and settlement subsystems on a deferred basis
8.1. For direct participation in any of the clearing and settlement subsystems on a deferred basis, it is necessary for the participant to indicate a dedicated cash account for real-time gross settlement (CND LBTR) in any of the national systems that are part of TARGET, which will be used for the financial settlement of operations.
8.2. Direct participation in any of the SICOI clearing and settlement subsystems on a deferred basis requires:
a) The opening of a main cash account (CNP) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the establishment of a value reserve, in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 35 to 38 of this Regulation; b) The establishment of a value reserve, which can be provided by depositing cash in the account referred to in the previous point and/or through liquidity granted by the Bank of Portugal guaranteed by assets eligible for Eurosystem credit operations, in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 35 to 38 of this Regulation.
8.3. Direct participation in the subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement implies the acceptance, by participants who establish the value reserve through liquidity granted by the Bank of Portugal guaranteed by assets eligible for Eurosystem credit operations, of the terms and conditions defined in the “Framework agreement for the opening of credit with guarantee of financial instruments and credit rights in the form of bank loans within the framework of the guarantee fund account mechanism of the Interbank Clearing System in TARGET-PT”, contained in Annex VII of this Regulation.
8.4. The Bank of Portugal may, in duly justified exceptional circumstances, to ensure the regular functioning of the retail payments market and the SICOI subsystems and to safeguard possible prudential or systemic risks, exempt direct participants from the obligation referred to in paragraph 8.2.
Conditions for direct participation in the SICOI subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement
9.1. For direct participation in the SICOI subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement, it is necessary for the participant to indicate:
a) A dedicated cash account for real-time gross settlement (CND LBTR) in any of the national systems that are part of TARGET, which will be used for the settlement of the remuneration of the ledger account balance; b) A dedicated cash account for the TARGET immediate payment settlement service (CND TIPS) in any of the national systems that are part of TARGET, for the settlement of immediate transfers.
9.2. Direct participation in the SICOI subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement implies the acceptance, by direct participants, of the terms and conditions defined in the “Framework agreement for financial guarantee for operations in the immediate transfers subsystem”, contained in Annex VIII of this Regulation.
Conditions for indirect participation in the SICOI subsystems
10.1. For indirect participation in any of the clearing subsystems, it is necessary that the representation of the applicant is ensured by a direct participant in SICOI in the same subsystem.
10.2. The introduction of payment operations in the various SICOI subsystems is, in accordance with paragraph 5 of Article 2-B of Decree-Law No. 221/2000 of 9 September, the sole responsibility of direct participants.
Other conditions for participation in the SICOI clearing and settlement subsystems
11.1. Participants in the immediate transfer subsystem and in the SEPA aspect of the credit transfer subsystem, established in Portugal, are, within the scope of SICOI, obliged to make available the PL and CoPS functionalities of the PLCP service to payment service users, in accordance with the provisions of Title III.A and Annex IX of this Instruction.
11.2. Participants in the immediate transfer subsystem, in the SEPA aspect of the credit transfer subsystem and in the direct debit subsystem, established in Portugal, are, within the scope of SICOI, obliged to make available the CoPB functionality of the PLCP service to payment service users, in accordance with the provisions of Title III.A and Annex IX of this Instruction.
11.3. Participants in the immediate transfer subsystem and in the SEPA aspect of the credit transfer subsystem, established in Portugal, are, within the scope of SICOI, obliged to make available the VoP service to payment service users, in accordance with the provisions of Title III.B and Annex X of this Instruction, whenever the CoPS functionality:
a) Has not allowed the confirmation of the identity of the intended beneficiary of the payment operation, or; b) Having allowed the confirmation of the identity of the beneficiary of the payment operation, the client has changed the beneficiary name received in CoPS.
Application for participation, alteration of the type of participation and cessation of participation in the SICOI subsystems
12.1. Participation in any SICOI subsystem is subject to the following procedures and requirements:
12.1.1. The participation process must be initiated by the applicant through the submission to the Bank of Portugal of an application for participation in the subsystem in question, to be approved by the Bank of Portugal;
12.1.2. If the application is approved by the Bank of Portugal, the applicant must submit the “Form for participation in SICOI” for the test environment;
12.1.3. The approval by the Bank of Portugal of the participation application submitted in accordance with paragraph 12.1.1 is dependent on the certification that the applicant meets the technical and operational conditions necessary for its participation, defined in the operating manuals of each subsystem;
12.1.4. The approval by the Bank of Portugal of the participation application submitted in accordance with paragraph 12.1.1 is also dependent on the applicant obtaining a Business Identifier Code (BIC) and an institution code to be provided by the Bank of Portugal;
12.1.5. The technical certification referred to in paragraph 12.1.3 must be presented to the Bank of Portugal by the SICOI processing entity, with a minimum advance of 12 business days relative to the date planned for the start of participation, except in exceptional and duly justified cases;
12.1.6. The applicant must submit to the Bank of Portugal the “Form for participation in SICOI” for the production environment, with a minimum advance of 12 business days relative to the date planned for the start of participation, except in exceptional and duly justified cases;
12.1.7. If the applicant wishes to participate in the SEPA credit transfer subsystems, SEPA direct debits (CORE or B2B) or immediate transfers, it must prove its adherence to the respective SEPA model of the European Payments Council (EPC);
12.1.8. The forms mentioned in paragraphs 12.1.2 and 12.1.6 are available on the institutional website of the Bank of Portugal (www.bportugal.pt), and must be signed by whoever has the powers to do so, on behalf of the applicant, according to the signature form to be sent to the Bank of Portugal.
12.2. The application for alteration of the type of participation in any subsystem is subject to the provisions of paragraph 12.1.
12.3. The cessation of participation in any SICOI subsystem is subject to the following procedures:
12.3.1. Receipt at the Bank of Portugal of a request for cessation of participation, according to the 'Form for participation in SICOI';
12.3.2. The provisions of 12.1.8 apply to the subscription of the form for cessation of participation in the SICOI subsystems;
12.3.3. The receipt of the form referred to in 12.3.1 must occur with a minimum advance of 30 business days relative to the date planned for the cessation of participation, except in exceptional cases where a shorter advance is authorized;
12.3.4. Confirmation to the Bank of Portugal that the technical and operational conditions necessary for cessation are met.
12.4. In the event of the extinction of an institution code, the Bank of Portugal will monitor the use of that code during a transition period to be defined by the Bank of Portugal, after which the said code will no longer be accepted in SICOI.
12.5. The start of participation, alteration of the type of participation or cessation of participation in any subsystem is communicated by the Bank of Portugal to all participants with a minimum advance of 10 business days, except in exceptional cases and without prejudice to the provisions of the following paragraph.
Suspension and exclusion of participants from the SICOI subsystems
13.1. The Bank of Portugal may suspend or exclude a participant in SICOI without prior notice.
13.1.1. Suspension consists of the temporary cessation of the rights and obligations of a participant during a period of time to be determined by the Bank of Portugal.
13.1.2. Exclusion consists of the definitive cessation of participation in SICOI.
13.2. The participant in SICOI will be suspended or excluded immediately if one of the following non-compliance situations occurs:
a) Opening of insolvency proceedings; b) Non-compliance with the participation conditions set out in paragraphs 8 to 11.
13.3. The following also constitute grounds for the suspension or exclusion of a participant from any of the SICOI clearing subsystems:
a) Non-compliance with duties established in this Regulation, its respective Annexes and the operating manuals of the subsystems that make up SICOI; b) Non-compliance with an important obligation towards the Bank of Portugal; c) The suspension or exclusion of the participant from TARGET.

13.5. In exercising the discretionary power referred to in point b) of paragraph 13.3. and paragraph 13.4., the Bank of Portugal will take into account, among other aspects, the impact of the identified default situations on the stability and security of SICOI.

13.6. The suspension or exclusion of a participant from any subsystem is communicated immediately by the Bank of Portugal to all participants of the respective subsystem, notably through the list of interlocutors registered in the Payment Systems Thematic Area on the BPnet portal (www.bportugal.net).

13.7. Operations presented in the clearing subsystems involving the suspended or excluded participant, and which, according to the provisions of paragraphs 17. and 23., are considered introduced into SICOI, are processed and submitted for settlement even if this occurs at a time subsequent to the decision of suspension or exclusion.

13.8. The Bank of Portugal is not responsible for any losses incurred by participants as a result of the suspension or exclusion of a participant.

B - FINANCIAL CLEARING

Duties of participants

14.1. Each participant must transmit to the Bank of Portugal, directly or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, the operations carried out with other participants, in accordance with the rules, schedules, and procedures defined in the operating manuals and with the technical specifications of each of the subsystems.

14.2. The participant is obliged to receive the operations presented to them, even in cases where, on their part, there is no information to send, or it is not possible to proceed with its transmission.

14.3. It is the exclusive responsibility of the participant to ensure consistency between all transmitted information and that contained in the documents or operations to which it refers.

14.4. Participants must ensure, in all activities they carry out within the scope of SICOI, high levels of technical competence. They must especially ensure that their organization functions with adequate human and material resources to ensure appropriate conditions of security, quality, and efficiency.

Rights of participants

15.1. The Bank of Portugal, directly or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, ensures participants:

a) The receipt, processing, and availability of information, and sending to participants in the various subsystems, in accordance with the definition in the subsystem operating manuals, ensuring the adequate levels of security and service availability defined in these documents;

b) Financial settlement in their respective settlement accounts;

c) The retention of exchanged information, with a view to resolving conflicts between participants, for the following periods:

1 year after the date of presentation, with respect to the logical record;
3 business days after the date of presentation, with respect to the images exchanged in clearing.

15.2. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 15.1., with respect to subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement, the Bank of Portugal, directly or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, ensures participants:

a) The consultation of the total values of operations to be cleared and cleared, in the last clearing session;

b) The communication of balances to be settled, by electronic transmission or, if impossible, by an adequate alternative process, in the terms defined in the subsystem operating manuals.

15.3. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 15.1., with respect to the subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement, the Bank of Portugal, directly or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, ensures participants:

a) Real-time consultation of immediate transfers and processed liquidity transfers, for a period of not less than 12 months;

b) Consultation of the register account balance to allow them real-time control of the funds available to execute immediate transfers.

Clearing

16.2. Clearing is carried out by the Bank of Portugal, directly or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, in accordance with this Regulation and the operating manuals of each subsystem of SICOI.

16.3. Clearing will occur provided that the Bank of Portugal considers that the minimum necessary conditions for the functioning of SICOI are met, even in abnormal situations or exceptional occurrences that notably affect the banking sector.

16.4. Any discrepancies found between the transmitted values and the actual values must be regularized immediately by the participants involved, in accordance with the terms provided in their respective operating manuals or, in case of omission, in the most appropriate manner, notably through bilateral contacts.

C - SUBSYSTEMS WITH DEFERRED CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT

Entry, irrevocability, and finality of operations in subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement

17.1. Operations are considered introduced into SICOI at the time of the closing of clearing sessions provided for in Annex III, including those that, depending on the amount set in paragraph 39.1., must be settled on an individual basis.

17.2. Operations introduced into SICOI in accordance with paragraph 17.1. cannot be revoked.

17.3. Operations introduced into SICOI become final at the time of their respective financial settlement in TARGET, whether that settlement occurs on an individual basis or by settlement of the clearing balance of the subsystem to which they relate.

Financial settlement in subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement

18.1. Operations with a value lower than the amount defined in paragraph 39.1. are included in the clearing balance and settled in TARGET through the settlement procedure for peripheral systems 'A' described in the TARGET-PT Regulation.

18.2. Clearing balances are determined per subsystem by the Bank of Portugal, directly or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, and the positions of direct participants in each of the subsystems are settled by the movement of the TARGET LBTR CND indicated by the participant.

Calendar and schedules in subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement

19.1. Clearing and financial settlement of the subsystems that make up SICOI must be carried out in accordance with the calendar and schedules defined in Annex III, under penalty of application of the penalties established in Annex XI.

19.2. Any changes to the calendar and schedules indicated in paragraph 19.1. will be published by the Bank of Portugal with a minimum advance notice of 15 business days.

D - SUBSYSTEM WITH REAL-TIME CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT

Technical account of SICOI

20.1. The Bank of Portugal is the holder of a peripheral system account of the Target Instant Payment Settlement Service (TIPS) (SP TIPS technical account) in TARGET-PT for the settlement of immediate transfers, hereinafter designated as the "SICOI technical account", which serves as collateral for the financial settlement of payment operations processed in the immediate transfer subsystem.

20.2. Direct participants ensure that the amounts necessary to guarantee the real-time clearing and settlement of immediate transfers initiated by their clients or by the clients of their represented parties are available in the SICOI technical account.

20.3. The ownership of funds credited to the SICOI technical account by the participant, or in favor of this participant, is transferred to the Bank of Portugal, as collateral, in accordance with the "Framework Agreement for Financial Collateral for operations in the immediate transfer subsystem", contained in Annex VIII of this Regulation.

21.1. Each direct participant must indicate a dedicated cash account of the Target Instant Payment Settlement Service (CND TIPS) for the settlement of immediate transfers from which they carry out the funding of the SICOI technical account.

21.2. Liquidity transfers between the SICOI technical account and the CND TIPS for the settlement of immediate transfers indicated by the direct participant, in accordance with 21.1., are carried out by the Bank of Portugal, directly or by the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, on behalf of the direct participant, in accordance with the TARGET-PT Regulation.

21.3. In accordance with paragraph 21.2., the direct participant grants the Bank of Portugal, directly or to the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, authorization to debit and credit the CND TIPS indicated by them.

22.1. Each direct participant in the immediate transfer subsystem will be assigned a register account that details, at all times, the funds that are available in their favor in the SICOI technical account. These funds are hereinafter designated as "register account balance".

22.2. The register account balance of each direct participant is affected in real time by the Bank of Portugal, directly or by the processing entity referred to in Title II.E:

a) By liquidity transfers (credits and debits) carried out between the CND TIPS for the settlement of immediate transfers indicated by them and the SICOI technical account; and

b) By the debits and credits corresponding to the processing of immediate transfers involving the direct participant or any of the indirect participants represented by them.

22.3. The register account balance of each direct participant can never be negative.

22.4. The direct participant may agree with each indirect participant the limits of use, by the latter, of the register account balance of the direct participant.

22.5. The Bank of Portugal, directly or the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, verifies that, prior to the execution of each immediate transfer ordered by a participant, the register account balance of the direct participant is sufficient for the execution of the operation and that, where applicable, the defined limits according to paragraph 22.4. are not exceeded.

23.1. Immediate transfers are considered introduced into SICOI at the moment when the respective funds are blocked in the register account of the direct participant or, in the case where the orderer is an indirect participant, in the register account of the direct participant who represents them.

23.2. Operations introduced into SICOI, in accordance with paragraph 23.1., are irrevocable and final from the moment of their settlement.

Settlement in the subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement

Immediate transfers are considered settled at the moment of the allocation of the participants' register accounts.

Calendar and schedules in the subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement

The immediate transfer subsystem operates every day of the year, 24 hours a day, continuously.

E - PROCESSING ENTITY

Processing entity for clearing operations

26.1. The Bank of Portugal may designate an entity (denominated as the processing entity) to receive and process the SICOI operations submitted by participants, ensuring that this entity assumes, notably, the responsibilities established in paragraphs 14.1., 15., 16.2., 18.2., 21.2., 21.3., 22.2., 22.5., 35.3., and 40.4. of this Regulation.

26.2. The processing entity must proceed with the certification referred to in paragraph 12.1.3.

Responsibilities of the processing entity

27.1. The processing entity will ensure the receipt and processing of SICOI operations indicated in paragraph 26.1. of this Regulation, in the terms defined in the contract celebrated with the Bank of Portugal within the framework of the functioning of SICOI and in compliance with the obligations applicable to SICOI as a peripheral system of TARGET-PT.

27.2. The processing entity will make available to the Bank of Portugal all information requested by it and, on a regular basis, statistical information relating to all subsystems of SICOI, in the terms requested of it.

27.3. The processing entity must communicate to the Bank of Portugal the exact location of all computer centers that may provide services within the scope of SICOI.

27.5. The processing entity will be responsible for any errors or deviations that occur in the transmission, validation, or execution of instructions that are proven to have been transmitted to it by participants, including those relating to the funding of the technical account referred to in paragraph 20. and the allocation of the register accounts referred to in paragraph 22., except when such errors or deviations are due to acts or omissions attributable to the participants.

27.6. The processing entity must ensure, in all activities it carries out within the scope of SICOI, high levels of technical competence. It must especially ensure that its organization functions with adequate human and material resources to ensure appropriate conditions of security, quality, and efficiency.

27.7. The processing entity must ensure that technical and operational procedures are rigorous, well documented, and, whenever there are changes, these are duly tested.

27.8. The processing entity must possess the capacity to, in the shortest possible time, operationalize the decision of suspension or exclusion of participants in SICOI taken by the Bank of Portugal in accordance with paragraph 13. and to recalculate the clearing balances of SICOI in accordance with paragraph 40.

Outsourcing of services by the processing entity

28.1. The contracting, by the processing entity, of services with a significant impact on the functioning of SICOI will imply prior information to the Bank of Portugal.

28.2. Services considered to have a significant impact on the functioning of SICOI are data centers, network and financial messaging services, payment processing services, settlement functionalities made available to participants, and the supply of other applications related to payment, clearing, or settlement services.

Contracts between the processing entity and participants

29.1. The Bank of Portugal may request the processing entity to make available the contracts it has celebrated with participants within the framework of the functioning of SICOI, which must be sent within eight business days from the date of the request.

29.2. If the contracts referred to in paragraph 29.1. are framework contracts, identical for all participants, the processing entity may make available to the Bank of Portugal the draft thereof, accompanied by the updated list of subscribing participants.

Minimum service levels

30.1. The processing entity must comply with the minimum operational service levels defined for the processing of payment operations in each subsystem, agreed between the Bank of Portugal and the processing entity.

30.2. The processing entity must report semi-annually to the Bank of Portugal the levels of service actually recorded.

F - GOVERNANCE MODEL OF THE SICOI SUBSYSTEMS

Governance Levels

31.1. The governance model of SICOI is based on a tripartite structure, composed of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Portugal (level 1), the Payment Systems Department of the Bank of Portugal (level 2), and the processing entity of SICOI operations (level 3), whose corresponding functions are contained in Annex I.

31.2. The regulation and definition of the strategic guidelines of SICOI are the exclusive competence of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Portugal (level 1), representing the last instance of decision on matters related to its functioning.

31.3. The current management of SICOI is ensured by the Payment Systems Department of the Bank of Portugal (level 2), by delegation of powers from the Board of Directors of the Bank of Portugal. This Department provides assistance to the Board of Directors of the Bank in all matters concerning SICOI, monitors its functioning, identifies problems, and contributes to the implementation of solutions.

31.4. The receipt and processing of operations submitted by participants, as well as the technical and operational management of the system, are the responsibility of the processing entity designated by the Bank of Portugal (level 3).

31.5. The coordination, analysis, and presentation of proposals for the strategic evolution of the SICOI subsystems are ensured by the SICOI Monitoring Committee (CAS), whose composition and functioning are contained in Annex II. This committee also ensures the adequate articulation between levels 2 and 3 of the SICOI governance model with respect to their respective subsystems.

G - RISK MANAGEMENT IN THE SICOI SUBSYSTEMS

Risk mitigation in SICOI

32.1. Risk mitigation is ensured by the implementation of the following mechanisms/instruments:

32.2. The risk management mechanisms of SICOI are subject to re-evaluation by the Bank of Portugal every three years or whenever justified.

Business continuity procedures in contingency situations
To ensure business continuity in contingency situations, the processing entity must:
a) Make copies of data and programs, and establish an alternative computer center with a different risk profile, at a minimum distance of one hundred kilometers in a straight line from the main center, where the system will be restored in case of serious problems – such as system failure, explosions, floods, fires, earthquakes – that affect its main computer system; b) Create the necessary internal mechanisms to activate the alternative center after the occurrence of serious problems affecting the main center within the timeframe defined in the minimum operational service levels; c) Create simpler solutions that allow the recovery of system operation whenever less serious problems occur affecting only isolated components – such as disk subsystems and processing units – within the timeframe defined in the minimum operational service levels; d) Periodically (at least annually) conduct exercises with the Bank of Portugal that allow testing (i) the settlement of compensation balances and settled operations directly in TARGET on an individual basis, in case of failure in the connection to TARGET, (ii) the recalculation of compensation balances in all subsystems, (iii) the activation of the SICOI guarantee mechanism, (iv) the suspension of participants in the immediate transfers subsystem, and (v) the suspension of participants in the deferred settlement subsystems.
Communication procedures between the Bank of Portugal and the processing entity
The Bank of Portugal and the processing entity must comply with the procedures defined in the manual that details the practical rules to be adopted in interactions between both.
SICOI guarantee fund account in TARGET-PT for subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement
35.1. The Bank of Portugal is the holder of an SICOI guarantee fund account in TARGET-PT, in accordance with the TARGET peripheral systems settlement procedure ‘A’, which will be used exclusively for the settlement of compensation balances of direct participants in subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement in situations of lack or insufficiency of liquidity.
35.2. The lack or insufficiency of liquidity in the LBTR NCA indicated by the direct participant in TARGET and its non-funding within the timeframe set by the Bank of Portugal may imply, depending on the analysis carried out by the Bank of Portugal, the activation of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT.
35.3. In the case provided for in paragraph 35.2., the Bank of Portugal may fund the SICOI guarantee fund account in TARGET-PT, up to the value provided by the direct participant in accordance with paragraphs 36. to 38., activating, directly or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E, the settlement procedures established in TARGET-PT.
Value reserve to be established by the direct participant within the framework of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT
36.1. The value reserve to be established by the direct participant, in compliance with the provisions of paragraph 8.2.b) and in accordance with paragraph 35.3., may be provided in cash and/or in liquidity granted by the Bank of Portugal guaranteed by eligible assets for Eurosystem credit operations, corresponding to the highest of the following values:
a) Maximum of the daily net debtor position recorded in the last year, excluding moderate outliers; b) 95th percentile of the daily net positions recorded in the last year; c) Minimum requirement of 100,000 euros.
36.2. The definition of the daily net positions of each direct participant, as well as the determination of the amount of the value reserve to be established by the direct participant in accordance with paragraph 36.1., are set out in Annex VI.
36.3. The Bank of Portugal reviews monthly, with reference to the last TARGET day of the previous month, the amount of the value reserve to be established by each direct participant in accordance with paragraph 36.1., according to the following procedures:
a) By the first TARGET day of the month, the Bank of Portugal informs each direct participant, via email sent to previously indicated contacts, of the new amount of the value reserve to be established; b) In the event that an increase in the amount of the value reserve to be established is necessary, this increase must be made by the direct participant by the end of the second TARGET day of the month; c) On the date of adherence of a direct participant, it must ensure compliance with the minimum requirement of the value reserve by the end of its respective TARGET day.
36.4. Whenever the maximum limit per operation established in paragraph 39. is altered, the Bank of Portugal reviews the amount of the value reserve to be established by each direct participant in accordance with Annex VI, according to the timeframes and procedures to be defined by the Bank of Portugal on a case-by-case basis.
36.5. Whenever, in accordance with paragraph 36.1., the value reserve of the direct participant is provided simultaneously in cash and in eligible assets for Eurosystem credit operations, the activation of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT will imply the use first of the cash, and if the same is insufficient, of the liquidity guaranteed by eligible assets.
36.6. Non-compliance by direct participants with the provisions of this paragraph implies their subject to the penalties provided for in Annex XI.
Cash value reserve within the framework of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT
37.1. The value reserve constituted by the direct participant in cash is registered in the main cash account (MCA) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the establishment of a value reserve.
37.2. In the event of a lack or insufficiency of liquidity in the LBTR NCA indicated by the direct participant, the Bank of Portugal may, in accordance with paragraph 35.2., effect transfers of liquidity between the main cash account (MCA) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the establishment of a value reserve, and the SICOI guarantee fund account in TARGET-PT, on behalf of the direct participant.
37.3. Direct participants expressly authorize the Bank of Portugal to effect the liquidity transfers referred to in paragraph 37.2.
37.4. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 37.5., the direct participant must, by the close of the TARGET day on which the lack or insufficiency of liquidity in the LBTR NCA in TARGET indicated by it occurs, reimburse the cash used in the main cash account (MCA) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the establishment of a value reserve, under penalty of application of the penalties established in Annex XI.
37.5. The provisions of paragraph 37.4. are not applicable if the amount of the value reserve provided by the direct participant is greater than the amount of the value reserve required by the Bank of Portugal, in accordance with paragraph 36.
Value reserve guaranteed by eligible assets within the framework of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT
38.1. The amount of the value reserve guaranteed by eligible assets for Eurosystem credit operations is registered in the collateral management system used by the Bank of Portugal at any given time, and is limited to the sufficiency of guarantee assets.
38.2. In the event of a lack or insufficiency of liquidity in the LBTR NCA indicated by the direct participant, the Bank of Portugal may, in accordance with paragraph 35.2, and if the direct participant does not have sufficient funds in the main cash account (MCA) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the establishment of a value reserve, effect a liquidity transfer to the SICOI guarantee fund account in TARGET-PT.
38.3. The transfer referred to in paragraph 38.2. is guaranteed by eligible assets for Eurosystem credit operations, with the constitution of a financial pledge in favor of the Bank of Portugal, in accordance with and in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8, and the Bank of Portugal Instruction that regulates the collateral management system used by the Bank of Portugal at any given time.
38.4. The direct participant must, by the close of the TARGET day on which the lack or insufficiency of liquidity in the LBTR NCA in TARGET indicated by it occurs, reimburse the Bank of Portugal the amount used.
38.5. In case of non-compliance, the penalties established in Annex XI apply, and the Bank of Portugal may proceed to the execution of eligible assets in accordance with and in accordance with the provisions of the Bank of Portugal Instruction that regulates the collateral management system used by the Bank of Portugal at any given time.
38.6. Direct participants in SICOI who are not eligible counterparties for Eurosystem monetary policy operations may only constitute the value reserve using eligible assets for Eurosystem credit operations in exceptional situations duly justified and authorized by the Bank of Portugal.
38.7. For the purposes of the provisions of paragraph 38.6., direct participants must comply with the operational requirements mentioned in the Bank of Portugal Instruction that regulates the collateral management system used by the Bank of Portugal at any given time.
Maximum limit per operation
39.1. In subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement, operations with a value lower than the following are included in the balance determined at each clearing close:
a) 100,000 euros for the commercial effects clearing subsystem; b) 500,000 euros for the clearing subsystems of checks, direct debits, credit transfers, and payment operations based on cards.
39.2. In subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement where it is possible to introduce operations with a value equal to or higher than those defined in paragraph 39.1., these operations are settled directly in TARGET on an individual basis.
39.3. In the real-time clearing and settlement subsystem, operations are cleared and settled bilaterally in real time, regardless of their value.
39.4. A maximum limit per operation may be defined in SICOI to be applied in the real-time clearing and settlement subsystem, which will be set out in its respective operation manual.
Recalculation of compensation balances in subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement
40.1. The lack or insufficiency of liquidity in the LBTR NCA opened in TARGET and its non-funding by the participant within the timeframe set by the Bank of Portugal may imply, ultimately and depending on the analysis carried out by the Bank of Portugal, the recalculation of participants' multilateral balances.
40.2. In the case provided for in 40.1., the recalculation of multilateral balances is carried out based on the bilateral balances previously determined for the subsystem in question, excluding the values relating to the participant(s) unable to meet their commitments.
40.3. Whenever this mechanism is activated, the Bank of Portugal will notify participants of their respective clearing subsystem, notably through the list of interlocutors registered in the Payment Systems Thematic Area of the BPnet portal (www.bportugal.net).
40.4. The procedures necessary for the processing of the recalculation of multilateral balances, contained in the operation manuals of the subsystems that make up SICOI, will be ensured by the Bank of Portugal, directly, or through the processing entity referred to in Title II.E.
Pre-financing of the SICOI technical account for the subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement
Participants may only carry out operations in the subsystem with real-time clearing and settlement for which there is sufficient balance in the direct participant's register account, which is guaranteed by the funds deposited in the SICOI technical account.

H - AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS

Check clearing subsystem
The availability of funds to the beneficiary of the check or similar document must occur by the end of the 2nd business day following the financial settlement, without prejudice to the exceptions provided for in point 1.2 of Annex III.
Commercial effects clearing subsystem
The availability of funds to the beneficiary of the commercial effects, presented to participants only for collection, must occur by the end of the business day following the financial settlement, without prejudice to the exceptions provided for in point 1.2 of Annex III.

III – PROVISION OF SERVICES BY THE BANK OF PORTUGAL WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF SICOI

A - SERVICE FOR IDENTIFIER FOR ACCOUNT DERIVATION AND CONFIRMATION OF BENEFICIARY/DEBTOR

Provision of the Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation service
44.1. The Bank of Portugal makes available, to participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI established in Portugal, the Account Derivation Identifier functionality – Proxy Lookup (PL), the Single Payee Confirmation functionality – Confirmation of Payee Single (CoPS), and the Bulk Payee/Payer Confirmation functionality – Confirmation of Payee/Payer Bulk (CoPB), in accordance with the descriptions in Annex IX.
44.2. The PL functionality allows participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI, established in Portugal, to make available to payment service users the possibility of initiating a payment operation through the indication of a "user identifier" of the beneficiary, from which the respective "payment account identifier" is obtained.
44.3. The CoPS and CoPB functionalities allow participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI, established in Portugal, to make available to payment service users the possibility of confirming the identity of the beneficiary or debtor of a payment operation, before it is initiated.
Terms and conditions
The use of the PLCP service by entities established in Portugal implies acceptance of the Terms and Conditions defined in Annex IX of this Regulation.

B - BENEFICIARY VERIFICATION SERVICE

Provision of the Beneficiary Verification service
46.1. The Bank of Portugal makes available the Beneficiary Verification service – Verification of Payee (VoP), in accordance with the descriptions in Annex X.
46.2. The VoP service allows subscribers to make available to payment service users the possibility of verifying the identity of the beneficiary of a payment operation, before it is initiated, in accordance with the specifications defined in the European Payments Council (EPC) Scheme Verification Of Payee.
Terms and conditions
Adherence to the VoP service implies acceptance of the Terms and Conditions defined in Annex X of this Regulation.

IV – PRICING

Pricing
48.1. The pricing to be applied by the Bank of Portugal to participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI and to subscribers to the Bank of Portugal services within the framework of SICOI is based on the recovery of costs incurred with the operation of SICOI and the settlement of operations in TARGET-PT.
48.2. The direct participant in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI is responsible for paying the Bank of Portugal the pricing applicable to its represented parties (indirect participants).
48.3. The pricing to be applied by the Bank of Portugal to participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI is defined in Annex XI.
48.4. The pricing to be applied to subscribers of the VoP service is defined in the Terms and Conditions contained in Annex X.
48.5. The Bank of Portugal reviews the Pricing every three years, or whenever justified.

V – OTHER PROVISIONS

Penalties for non-compliance with the SICOI Regulation
The penalties contained in points 2. and 3. of Annex XI do not prejudice the application of fines in accordance with the provisions of Title XI of the General Regime of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies.
Individual responsibility of participants
The reciprocal rights and duties of participants, arising from their participation in the subsystems comprising SICOI, are not opposable nor do they exclude the individual responsibility of each participant towards its clients.
Amendments to the Regulation and omitted cases
It is incumbent upon the Bank of Portugal:
a) To make amendments to this Regulation, hearing the participants whenever necessary; b) To decide on omitted cases.
Operation manuals of the SICOI subsystems, operation manuals of the services provided by the Bank of Portugal within the framework of SICOI and Annexes
52.1. The operation manuals of the various subsystems of SICOI and of the services provided by the Bank of Portugal form an integral part of this Regulation and contain the general, functional and technical specifications relating to the processing of operations in these subsystems and services.
52.2. The operation manuals of the SICOI subsystems are made available to participants, by the Bank of Portugal, in the Payment Systems Thematic Area of the BPnet portal (www.bportugal.net), up to two months before the date of entry into production of the amendments, with email notification sent to the contacts designated for this purpose by each participant.
52.3. The operation manuals of the services provided by the Bank of Portugal within the framework of SICOI are made available to subscribers, by the Bank of Portugal, up to two months before the date of entry into production of the amendments, with email notification sent to the contacts designated for this purpose by each participant.
52.4. Amendments to the operation manuals are classified as:
i) Minor amendments (revisions), when they result in point changes with little significant impact on the subsystem or service in question, resulting, notably, from small adaptations, clarifications, explanations, correction of omissions or errors, or non-substantial changes to existing functionalities;

Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Bulletin No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17 Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
..................................................................................................................................................................................................
ii) Major changes (versions), when they result in changes with significant impact on the subsystems or services concerned, resulting, in particular, from the inclusion of new functionalities, substantial changes to existing functionalities, or changes to fee schedules.

52.5. In addition to the operating manuals for the SICOI subsystems and the operating manuals for the services provided by the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI, the following annexes are an integral part of this Regulation:
a) Annex I - Governance model for the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI; b) Annex II - SICOI Monitoring Committee; c) Annex III - Schedule of clearing closes and deferred financial settlement and hours; d) Annex IV - Procedures relating to the clearing of checks; e) Annex V - Reasons for the return of checks; f) Annex VI - Determination of the amount of the value reserve to be established by the direct participant to guarantee its clearing balances in the subsystems with clearing and deferred financial settlement; g) Annex VII - Framework agreement for credit opening with guarantee of financial instruments and credit rights in the form of bank loans within the scope of the guarantee fund account mechanism of the Interbank Clearing System in TARGET-PT; h) Annex VIII - Framework agreement for financial guarantee for operations in the immediate transfers subsystem; i) Annex IX - Terms and Conditions of the Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation service; j) Annex X - Terms and Conditions of the Beneficiary Verification service; k) Annex XI - Fee schedule and penalties to be applied to participants in the clearing and financial settlement subsystems.

Entry into force

53.1. This Instruction revokes and replaces in full Instruction No. 8/2018, published in the Official Bulletin of the Bank of Portugal No. 8/2018, of March 22.

53.2. This Instruction enters into force on October 3, 2025, with effects produced on October 5, 2025 regarding the provision of the VoP service by the Bank of Portugal.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Bulletin No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
..................................................................................................................................................................................................
Annex I - Governance model for the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI

Level 1
Board of Directors of the Bank of Portugal

Level 2
Payments Systems Department of the Bank of Portugal

Level 3
Entity processing SICOI operations

Level 1 represents the definitive decision-making instance for all issues related to SICOI and is responsible for safeguarding its public function.

Level 2 exercises all competencies that have been delegated to it by Level 1 within the scope of SICOI's operation, namely those related to the current management of SICOI.

Level 3 ensures the receipt and processing of operations submitted by participants and prepares proposals for changes to the operation of SICOI, in coordination with Level 2 and with the Interbank Working Groups of the Interbank Commission for Payment Systems (CISP).

Cost calculation policy and price determination

Decides on the structure and value of:

SICOI Fee Schedules;
Interbank Tariffs;
SICOI Fee Schedules charged by the processing entity.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, proposals for changes to:

SICOI Fee Schedules;
Interbank Tariffs;
SICOI Fee Schedules charged by the processing entity.

Prepares proposals for changes to:

Interbank Tariffs;
SICOI Fee Schedules charged by the processing entity.

Decides on the measures to be implemented to ensure the correct application of interbank tariffs and SICOI and processing entity fee schedules.

Controls and evaluates the correct application of interbank tariffs and SICOI and processing entity fee schedules and, whenever necessary, proposes action measures that ensure their adequacy.

Provides the necessary information for the analysis of the application of interbank tariffs and SICOI fee schedules charged by the processing entity.

Service Level

Decides on the minimum service levels to be offered by SICOI.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, proposals for changes to the minimum service levels to be offered by SICOI.

Prepares proposals for changes to the minimum service levels to be offered by SICOI.

Decides on the measures to be implemented to ensure compliance with the minimum service levels.

Controls and evaluates the degree of compliance with the minimum service levels established by Level 1 and, whenever necessary, proposes action measures that ensure their observance.

Provides the necessary information for the analysis of compliance with SICOI's minimum service levels, including incident reports

Risk Management

Decides on the global risk mitigation mechanisms of SICOI.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, proposals for changes to the global risk mitigation mechanisms of SICOI.

Maintains adequate internal risk mitigation mechanisms (from the perspective of the processing entity).

Decides on the measures to be implemented to ensure adequate risk management of SICOI.

Controls and evaluates the risks associated with SICOI and the adequacy of the respective mitigation mechanisms implemented and, whenever necessary, proposes action measures that ensure their adequacy.

Provides the necessary information for the analysis of SICOI risks, including information that allows monitoring the evolution of the risk mitigation mechanisms implemented by the processing entity.

To be informed of the activation of the SICOI guarantee mechanism.

Decides on the activation of the SICOI guarantee mechanism and communicates the activation of the SICOI guarantee mechanism to the processing entity.

Ensures the operationalization of the activation of the SICOI guarantee mechanism.

Decides on the activation of the clearing balance recalculation mechanism.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, proposals for activation of the clearing balance recalculation mechanism. After said approval, communicates the activation of the recalculation mechanism to the participants of the respective subsystem and to the processing entity.

Ensures the operationalization of the recalculation of clearing balances.

Development

Decides on the evolutionary changes to SICOI.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, proposals for evolutionary changes to SICOI.

Prepares proposals for evolutionary changes to SICOI, in coordination with the Interbank Working Groups of the Interbank Commission for Payment Systems (CISP).

Decides, by itself or through delegation, on new versions of the operating manuals for the SICOI subsystems (major changes).

Submits to the approval of Level 1 new versions of the operating manuals for the SICOI subsystems (major changes). After said approval, disseminates the manuals to the participants of the SICOI subsystems. Evaluates and decides

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Bulletin No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
on revisions to the operating manuals for the SICOI subsystems (minor changes).

Decides on the operating schedule and on the closing and settlement hours of the SICOI subsystems.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, proposals for changes to the schedule and closing and settlement hours of the subsystems. After said approval, disseminates the changes to the participants of the SICOI subsystems.

Prepares proposals for changes to the schedule and closing and settlement hours of the SICOI subsystems.

Prepares the detailed general, functional, and technical specifications contained in the operating manuals for the SICOI subsystems.

Operation

Decides on requests for participation, for change of type of participation, and for cessation of participation.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, requests for participation, for change of type of participation, and for cessation of participation and proceeds to communicate them to the participants.

Ensures the operationalization of requests for participation, for change of type of participation, and for cessation of participation.

Decides on the suspension or exclusion of participants.

Evaluates and submits to the approval of Level 1, proposals for suspension or exclusion of participants in any subsystem. After said approval, communicates the suspension or exclusion to the participants of the respective subsystem.

Ensures the operationalization of the suspension or exclusion of participants.

Decides on the measures to be implemented to ensure the adequate operation of SICOI.

Controls and evaluates the operation of the system in accordance with the current operating manuals and, whenever necessary, proposes action measures that ensure their adequacy.

Ensures technical and operational support to participants, including notably the testing activities developed by participants.

Mission and objectives

The SICOI Monitoring Committee (CAS) has the mission to coordinate, monitor, and prepare proposals for the strategic evolution of the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI, as well as to ensure their regular operation, promoting the efficiency, transparency, and security of the system.

With this objective, the CAS must ensure adequate articulation between Levels 2 and 3 of governance, as defined in Annex I. The CAS is not attributed any competencies regarding the services made available by the Bank of Portugal within the scope of SICOI.

Duties

Within the scope of its mission and objectives, it is incumbent upon the CAS to:

Analyze the application of interbank tariffs and the processing entity's tariffs;
Monitor incidents, the operational availability of the system, and the report on the degree of compliance with the minimum service levels defined;
Periodically review the service levels agreed between the Bank of Portugal and the processing entity, provided for in number 27 of this Regulation;
Monitor the risks associated with the operation of SICOI and the adequacy of the respective global mitigation mechanisms implemented;
Periodically review the manual that details the communication procedures between the Bank of Portugal and the processing entity, provided for in number 34 of this Regulation;
Analyze proposals for evolutionary changes to SICOI and prepare their submission by Level 2;
Analyze proposals for changes to the schedule and closing and settlement hours of the SICOI subsystems and prepare their submission by Level 2;
Monitor the timely definition of relevant schedules for adherence, changes of participation, and cessation of participation in SICOI;
Monitor the proposals for evolutionary changes to SICOI to be implemented in each version or revision of the operating manuals (where the respective detailed general, functional, and technical specifications are contained);
Coordinate the implementation of new versions or revisions of the operating manuals, including the respective certification tests to be carried out by participants with the processing entity, if necessary;
Evaluate and propose to Level 2 that a change to an operating manual be classified as a minor change (revision) or a major change (version).

The CAS is composed of representatives from the Payments Systems Department of the Bank of Portugal (DPG) and the entity processing SICOI operations, at the management level, with its coordination ensured by the director of the DPG.

Operation of the CAS

The secretariat of the CAS is ensured by the Bank of Portugal.

CAS meetings take place, as a rule, with a periodicity of at least semi-annually, and extraordinary meetings may be convened by any of the members whenever considered necessary. The respective agenda must be disseminated by the Bank of Portugal with a minimum advance notice of 5 days.

If considered necessary for the fulfillment of the duties assigned to it, the CAS may request the collaboration of the Interbank Working Groups that operate under the auspices of the Interbank Commission for Payment Systems (CISP) for the preparation or analysis of proposals for evolutionary changes to SICOI. In this case, the Committee must specify the concrete objectives and the deadline intended for the completion of the work.

Proposals presented by the CAS are submitted for approval by the Bank of Portugal, in accordance with the governance model contained in Title II.F and Annex I of this Regulation.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Bulletin No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Annex III - Schedule of clearing closes and deferred financial settlement and hours

Schedule

1.1. Financial settlement is carried out

For the clearing subsystems of checks and commercial bills, from Tuesday to Friday, unless any of these days coincides with the holidays foreseen in the ACTV of the Banking Sector or if TARGET is closed;
For the clearing subsystems of credit transfers, direct debits, and cards, from Tuesday to Friday, unless any of these days coincides with TARGET closure days.

1.2. On TARGET closure days that do not coincide with holidays foreseen in the ACT of the Banking Sector, clearing closes for checks, commercial bills, 1st Close of the Non-SEPA aspect of credit transfers and cards are carried out, with reference to that day, although financial settlement only occurs on the next business day that does not coincide with a TARGET closure day, in a separate movement.

1.3. The days referred to in the previous point are considered for the purposes of:
a) In the check clearing subsystem – presentation, sending of images, and counting of return deadlines and fund availability; b) In the commercial bills clearing subsystem – presentation for payment/collection, counting of deadlines for insertion into portfolio, return, and fund availability; c) In the credit transfer clearing subsystem – presentation, cancellation, and counting of return deadlines and fund availability; d) In the card-based payment operations clearing subsystem – presentation, cancellation, and fund availability.

1.4. In the card-based payment operations clearing subsystem, a daily clearing close is carried out, which will be settled on the next business day that does not coincide with TARGET closure days.

Hours

The hours to be observed by each close of the clearing sessions and financial settlement of the subsystems with clearing and deferred financial settlement that integrate SICOI are described in the following table:

SUBSYSTEM CLOSING OF CLEARING SESSIONS INFORMATION OF OPERATIONS TO BE SETTLED IN TARGET FINANCIAL SETTLEMENT IN TARGET SETTLEMENT PERIOD NON-SEPA CREDIT TRANSFERS 1st Close 21:00 06:00 09:30 a) 60 minutes 2nd Close 13:45 14:00 15:00 b) 30 minutes SEPA I 1st Close 23:30 06:00 09:00 a) 60 minutes 2nd Close 06:45 07:30 09:30 b) 60 minutes 3rd Close 11:15 12:00 12:30 b) 30 minutes 4th Close 13:45 14:30 15:00 b) 30 minutes 5th Close 16:00 16:15 16:30 b) 15 minutes SEPA II C) 1st Close 07:15 08:30 09:00 b) 60 minutes 2nd Close 09:45 11:00 11:30 b) 60 minutes 3rd Close 11:15 13:00 13:30 b) 30 minutes 4th Close 12:45 14:30 15:00 b) 45 minutes 5th Close 14:45 16:10 16:30 b) 15 minutes CARD-BASED PAYMENT OPERATIONS 20:00 06:00 09:00 a) 60 minutes COMMERCIAL BILLS 21:30 06:00 09:00 a) 60 minutes DIRECT DEBITS SEPA I CORE 12:00 13:30 14:00 b) 30 minutes B2B 12:00 13:30 14:00 b) 30 minutes SEPA II C) CORE 12h00 15:30 16:00 b) 30 minutes B2B 12h00 15:30 16:00 b) 30 minutes CHECKS 03:30 06:00 09:30 b) 60 minutes

a) Next business day after the clearing close, taking into account the exceptions contained in point 1. b) Same day as the clearing close, taking into account the exceptions contained in point 1. c) SEPA II closes refer to account adjustments between participants in SICOI, relating to operations processed in international clearing systems.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Bulletin No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
Annex IV - Procedures relating to the clearing of checks

Presentation for clearing

1.1. Participants must not present in this subsystem the checks or related documents that:
1.1.1. Contain amendments or erasures in any of the pre-printed mentions on the respective physical support, unless the same are motivated by the issuance of a "non-order" check;
1.1.2. Contain amendments or erasures in the pre-printed mention "non-order";
1.1.3. Have previously been the object of three returns by the drawee participant, for lack or insufficiency of provision;
1.1.4. Have been the object of the placement of an "alongue", regardless of the reasons that gave rise to it.

1.2. Credit institutions that intend to present for clearing the checks and related documents are obliged to do so in the clearing session following their acceptance for deposit, except in exceptional situations or force majeure.

Sending of images

2.1. The receiving participant is obliged to send to the drawee, in the same session as the presentation of the logical record and within the time defined in the operating manual, the images of the checks and related documents, whenever:
2.1.1. Their value is higher than the truncation amount agreed by the banking sector and disseminated by the Bank of Portugal to participants in the check clearing subsystem, through a circular letter, with a confidential character;
2.1.2. The drawee participants so determine through corresponding coding in the "Document Type" field, of the OCR line;
2.1.3. The same do not have a protected OCR line.

2.2. The receiving participant is equally obliged to send to the drawee, within a period of 2 business days, counted from the day following the return, the images of truncated checks returned, for the purposes of compliance with the provisions of the Legal Regime of the Check Without Provision.

2.3. The receiving participant who fails to comply with the provisions of the previous point is subject to the interbank tariff provided for in the operating manual, without prejudice to the application of other sanctioning regimes.

Image Requests
4.1. Within the retention period for checks and related documents, or their respective image archive, the acquiring participant is obliged to send to the drawee institution, under the conditions defined in the operating manual, the images of checks and related documents presented for clearing and not returned, which the drawee institution requests via IT systems.
4.2. Failure to satisfy image requests within the timeframes indicated in the operating manual is subject to the application of the interbank tariff provided for therein, without prejudice to the application of other provisions of a sanctioning nature.
General Procedures
5.1. For the purposes of Article 40(3) of the Uniform Law on Cheques, with the adherence to this subsystem, acquiring participants are automatically subject to the obligation to affix on the back of checks the reason for return that has been regularly transmitted to them, with the responsibility for its indication lying with the drawee participants.
5.2. With adherence to this subsystem, the drawee participant automatically delegates to the acquiring participant, who accepts, the responsibility outlined in Article 35 of the Uniform Law on Cheques, regarding the verification of the regularity of endorsements.
Procedures and Responsibilities of the Presenting/Acquiring Participant
6.1. The presenting participant must place on all checks or their respective images the date of presentation for clearing and the acronym of the acquiring bank, as defined in the Operating Manual.
6.2. Whenever duplication of clearing files occurs, the presenting participant is obliged to restore the amount in question on the same day through the 2nd closing of credit transfers or TARGET, making an entry for each recipient institution.
6.3. The acquiring participant is responsible for:
a) Detecting the situations referred to in point 1.1 of this Annex; b) Verifying, for all checks and related documents presented to them, the regularity of:
− Their completion, with the exception of the validity date of the check form; − The succession of endorsements, affixing on the back, in cases where there is no endorsement, the expression "value received for credit to the beneficiary's account" or equivalent;

c) Placing an "alongue" (supplementary slip) at the time of the third return due to lack or insufficiency of funds, on all checks and related documents returned; d) Placing the information provided for in point 8.3 of this Annex on all checks and related documents returned to the beneficiary, as well as on "alongues", during the third return due to lack or insufficiency of funds; e) Retaining and keeping all checks and related documents presented and not returned to the beneficiary and their respective images, in accordance with current legislation; f) Sending to the drawee participant the images of checks and related documents, in accordance with points 2 and 4 of this Annex; g) The good quality of the images sent to the drawee.
6.4. The acquiring participant may only proceed with the physical destruction of checks and related documents, provided they observe the legally defined rules.

Procedures and Responsibilities of the Drawee Participant
7.1. The drawee participant who has received the information corresponding to documents that require the sending of an image, by the acquiring participant, may return them in the following session, if the relevant image has not been sent in the respective session or, if sent, does not allow for the verification of the data contained therein.
7.2. The drawee participant is obliged to receive, process, and control the information, regarding all checks or related documents, transmitted to them by other participants through the Bank of Portugal or the entity referred to in Title II.E of this Regulation.
7.3. The drawee participant is responsible for the information they transmit to the acquiring participant, upon the return of checks and related documents.
7.4. Visited checks must be subject to special treatment, notably regarding aspects susceptible to defect, and the general regime for the revocation of other checks shall also apply.
Returns
8.1. Checks and related documents cleared may be returned to the presenters, provided that at least one of the reasons listed in Annex V applies, with the reasons provided for check returns applied to related documents with the necessary adaptations.
8.2. The return reasons referenced with an asterisk in Annex V, which are strictly attributable to the participants, must not be affixed on the back of the documents to be returned to the beneficiary.

8.3. On checks and related documents returned, as well as on their "alongues", the acquiring participant must indicate the date of presentation, the date of return, the reason indicated by the drawee bank, in full, and a signature, as defined in the operating manual.
8.4. The return of checks and related documents re-presented for payment must be proven by placing the information provided for in the previous point.

Reasons and Timeframes for Return
9.1. In the case of multiple return reasons coexisting, the drawee participant must indicate only one reason, according to the order of prevalence outlined in Annex V.
9.2. Checks and related documents may be returned to the acquiring participant in the clearing session following the one in which they were presented.
9.3. After the period referred to in the previous point, acquiring participants are not obliged to accept the return of checks and related documents that they have presented for clearing.

Annex V - Reasons for Check Returns

Return Reasons
Participants in the check clearing subsystem may only return checks (or related documents, where applicable) for the reasons indicated below, which are presented hierarchically, tending to be in order of prevalence.

1.1. In the capacity of the drawee institution
Not Negotiable a) When, in accordance with point 1.1 of Annex IV of this Regulation, the check or related document:
− Contains an amendment or erasure in any of the pre-printed mentions on its physical support, unless the same are motivated by the issuance of a "non-order" check; − Contains amendments or erasures in the pre-printed mention "non-order"; − Has previously been the subject of three returns by the drawee participant, due to lack or insufficiency of funds; − Has been the subject of the placement of an "alongue", regardless of the reasons that gave rise to it. b) When, in accordance with number 17 of this Regulation, the operation relating to a check or related document:
− Has been submitted for clearing, but cannot be considered introduced into the system; − Has been considered as introduced into the system, but has not become definitive due to a financial settlement failure in TARGET.
Lack of Main Requirement
When there is a lack of indication of a determined amount, the drawer's signature, or the date of issue.
Irregular Withdrawal
When there is a discrepancy of signature, signature of a holder who does not appear in the account opening file, insufficient signature, or signature not authorized to make a specific withdrawal.
Irregular Endorsement
When there is any situation of non-compliance with the transmission rules enshrined in Chapter II and, also, in Article 35 of Chapter IV, of the Uniform Law on Cheques.

Revoked Check - for Just Cause
When, in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 1170 of the Civil Code, the drawer has transmitted concrete instructions, embodied in a document in the possession of the drawee, in the sense that the check not be paid, having been the subject of theft, robbery, loss, moral coercion, accidental incapacity, or any situation in which there is a lack or defect in the formation of will. The reason specifically indicated by the drawee, in the logical register, must be affixed on the back of the check, by the acquiring bank. Revoked Check - Presentation Outside the Timeframe When, in accordance with Article 32 of the Uniform Law, the drawer has transmitted concrete instructions to the drawee in the sense that the check not be paid after 8 days from the date of issue or in another timeframe indicated by themselves (case of court checks, VAT, IRS, etc.). Check Presented Outside the Timeframe When the credit institution intends to refuse payment of the check:
− Not revoked by the drawer and which has been presented for payment after the period referred to in Article 29 of the Uniform Law has ended; − Regarding which the timeframe for using the respective module has not been observed.
Account Blocked
When the account has a balance to pay the check, but this is unavailable due to embargo, attachment, inventory, arrest, freezing, bankruptcy, or insolvency, situations decreed by judicial or supervisory entities. If the account does not have funds, it must be returned for "lack or insufficiency of funds". Account Suspended When the credit institution has knowledge that one of the account holders has died and the division of assets has not yet been carried out. In the case of a joint and several collective account, this reason will affect the portion of assets that the law presumes belongs to the deceased holder. If, however, the account globally considered does not have a sufficient balance, the return reason must be "lack or insufficiency of funds". Account Closed When the deposit contract is extinguished by the initiative of the depositor or the depository. In the case where the initiative is from the depository, they must have notified the depositor, to the last domicile declared by them, with a minimum advance notice of 30 days. Lack or Insufficiency of Funds When there is a lack or insufficiency of funds in checks of value higher than that legally defined as the obligation of payment by the drawee, not covered by any other

of the remaining return reasons. When lack or insufficiency of funds cumulatively occurs with any other of the reasons, the latter must be indicated, except in cases of blocked account or suspended account.
Non-existent Account Number and/or Check Number When the account number does not exist or, if it exists, the check number recorded in the computer register does not correspond to the records of checks existing in the drawee bank. It is not a return reason if the cases of closed account, blocked account, or suspended account occur. Error in Data () When the register is presented to an institution other than the drawee or its representative or when the control digits of the optical line do not match the information in the interbank zone, account number, check number, and document type, although these data are real and coherent. Incorrectly Indicated Amount () When there is a discrepancy between the amount prevailing on the check and that mentioned in the computer register (applicable to non-truncated checks and truncated checks whose issuance is controlled by the drawee bank). Image Not Received or Illegible () When the presentation of the logical register, regarding the checks referred to in point 2.1 of Annex IV, is not accompanied by the respective image, in accordance with the procedures, schedules, and timeframes provided for check clearing, or if the poor quality of the image prevents the verification of the data contained on the check. Duplicate Register/Check () When the elements contained in the logical register, received from presenting/taking credit institution(s), are mentioned more than once, without any return having been verified previously. Lack of Presentation Reference/Non-existence of Endorsement (*) When the presenting/taking bank has not placed the date of presentation in clearing on the check or its image, as provided for in point 6.1 of Annex I, or has not placed the expression "value received for credit to the beneficiary's account" or equivalent, taking responsibility in the case of lack of endorsement, as provided for in point 6.3 letter b) of Annex IV. Defective Check When the elements of the check, notably the signature, the amount, the date of issue, or the beneficiary are defective.

Return at the Request of the Taking Bank (*)
When the drawee credit institution receives instructions from the taking bank to that effect, which in turn has received them from the beneficiary of the check.

1.2. In the capacity of the taking institution:
Invalid Return Reason () a) When the drawee participant has invoked:
− Lack or insufficiency of funds for a check of value equal to or lower than that legally defined as the obligation of payment; − For truncated checks, the reasons of lack of main requirement, irregular withdrawal, irregular endorsement, lack of check image, lack of presentation reference/non-existence of endorsement, or defective check; − Unless the drawee participant informs the taking participant of the concrete fact justifying the return and, in good time, transmits it to the taking participant. b) When, in accordance with number 17 of this Regulation, the operation relating to a check or related document:
− Has been submitted for clearing, but cannot be considered introduced into the system; − Has been considered as introduced into the system, but has not become definitive due to a financial settlement failure in TARGET.
Misrouting ()
When the logical register is returned to an institution other than the presenting/taking one.
Duplicate Register ()
When the elements contained in the logical register returned by the drawee credit institution are mentioned more than once, without any presentation having occurred in the meantime.
Return Outside the Timeframe ()
When the drawee credit institution transmits the logical register relating to the return beyond the timeframe indicated in this Regulation.

Return Reasons Not to be Made Available to Beneficiaries
Reasons accompanied by an asterisk (*) must not be affixed on the back of the checks to be returned to the beneficiaries thereof.

Annex VI - Determination of the Value Reserve Amount to be Established by the Direct Participant to Guarantee its Clearing Balances in Subsystems with Deferred Clearing and Settlement
The amount of the value reserve to be established by the direct participant in subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement (in cash and/or assets eligible for Eurosystem credit operations) is calculated according to the following:

i. For each direct participant in SICOI, the daily net position (Pd) resulting from the clearing balances and large-value operations with an amount lower than the maximum limit per operation of SICOI (balances and operations settled in the CND LBTR in TARGET indicated by the direct participant in SICOI), per value date and for the last 255 value dates, is calculated, according to the formula below:

Pd = (∑ SCc + ∑ OGMc) − (∑ SCd + ∑ OGMd)

Where:

Pd corresponds to the daily net position on the value date in question;
SCc corresponds to the sum of clearing balances settled to credit in the CND LBTR in TARGET indicated by the direct participant in SICOI, on the value date in question;
OGMc corresponds to the sum of large-value operations of SICOI settled to credit in the CND LBTR in TARGET indicated by the direct participant in SICOI, on the value date in question, and with an amount lower than the maximum limit per operation of SICOI;
SCd corresponds to the sum of clearing balances settled to debit in the CND LBTR in TARGET indicated by the direct participant in SICOI, on the value date in question;
OGMd corresponds to the sum of large-value operations settled to debit in the CND LBTR in TARGET indicated by the direct participant in SICOI, on the value date in question, and with an amount lower than the maximum limit per operation of SICOI.

ii. Based on the daily net positions determined according to 1), the following metrics are calculated:
a) First Metric: Most debtor daily net position recorded in the last 255 value dates, excluding moderate outliers, based on the Tukey (1977) method:
For each direct participant in SICOI, the amount to be considered for this metric is the daily net position of value immediately superior to that obtained once excluded, for each participant, positions of value lower (i.e., more negative) or equal to the result of the following formula (atypical daily positions):

Upper Limit of Atypical Positions = Quartile 1 – 1.5 * (Quartile 3 – Quartile 1),

Where Quartiles 1 and 3 are calculated for each direct participant in SICOI considering all daily net positions of the last 255 value dates.
If the value determined through this metric is equal to or greater than zero, the value zero is considered.

b) Second Metric: 95th Percentile of daily net positions recorded in the last 255 value dates For each direct participant in SICOI, the 95th percentile is calculated, based on the positions of the last 255 value dates, in order to ensure that the value reserve covers 95 percent of the daily net positions. If the value determined through this metric is equal to or greater than zero, the value zero is considered.

c) Third Metric: Minimum Requirement
Direct participation in SICOI implies the establishment of a value reserve with a minimum value of 100,000 euros.

iii. The amount of the value reserve to be established by each direct participant in SICOI corresponds to the highest of the values (considering the absolute value of the first and second metrics) calculated according to 2).

In accordance with the provisions of the Bank of Portugal Instruction establishing and regulating the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI), direct participation in any of the deferred clearing and settlement subsystems requires the provision of a value reserve within the framework of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT.

This value reserve may be provided by depositing cash into the main cash account (CNP) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the provision of a value reserve, or through liquidity granted by the Bank of Portugal secured by assets eligible for Eurosystem credit operations.

In the event of a lack or insufficiency of liquidity in the LBTR CND in TARGET indicated by the direct participant, the Bank of Portugal may, under the SICOI Regulation and if the direct participant does not have sufficient funds in their main cash account (CNP) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the provision of a value reserve, effect a liquidity transfer to the SICOI guarantee fund account in TARGET-PT, which is secured by assets eligible for Eurosystem credit operations, with the constitution of a financial pledge in favor of the Bank of Portugal, in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 105/2014, of May 8, and the Bank of Portugal Instructions regulating the collateral management system used by the Bank of Portugal at any given time, hereinafter referred to as Instructions.

For this purpose, each direct participant wishing to provide the value reserve through liquidity granted by the Bank of Portugal secured by assets eligible for Eurosystem credit operations must request the Bank of Portugal to open a secured credit in their favor (i) secured by financial instruments (tradable debt instruments) and/or (ii) by credit rights, in the form of bank loans (non-tradable debt instruments) with the constitution of a financial pledge, in light of the provisions of Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8, hereinafter referred to as credit rights, subject to the terms and conditions contained in the clauses of this Framework Agreement (hereinafter referred to as Agreement).

First Clause
(Object)

The Bank of Portugal, within the framework of the guarantee fund account mechanism of the Interbank Clearing System in TARGET-PT, proceeds to open a credit in favor of the direct participant, which is registered in the collateral management system used by the Bank of Portugal at any given time.
As security for the opened credit, it accepts to receive financial instruments and credit rights, delivered by the direct participant, hereinafter referred to as collateral assets, through the constitution of a financial pledge over them, in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8.

Second Clause
(Credit Amount)
The amount of the credit is limited to the amount required and calculated by the Bank of Portugal, in accordance with number 35 of the SICOI Regulation, referred to as the value reserve, which is communicated by email to the direct participant.

Third Clause
(Provision of Collateral)

The eligibility of collateral assets is subject to the requirements and conditions established in the Instructions.
The collateral provided by the direct participant shall be specified by it and subject to the acceptance of the Bank of Portugal.
The direct participant guarantees, under its own responsibility, that: (i) the financial instruments are its property; (ii) the bank loans exist and are valid; and that (iii) no encumbrance, charge, limitation, or lien exists over them, other than the registration of a financial pledge in favor of the Bank of Portugal.
This Agreement is only effective after the Bank of Portugal (i) has received communication from the Securities Central Depository or the depositary entity, if applicable, that the financial instruments have been transferred to the Bank of Portugal's account and that the exercise of the right of disposal is duly registered therein, and (ii) has verified, accepted, and registered the credit rights.
The direct participant cedes to the Bank of Portugal, by virtue of this Agreement, the possession of the pledged credits, henceforth acting in relation to these credits merely as a holder in the name of the Bank of Portugal.
The Bank of Portugal reserves the right to notify the debtor of the credit rights of the existence of the financial pledge at any time it deems convenient, which notification will always occur in the event of default by the direct participant, in which case the direct participant ceases to hold the credit, which becomes the property of the Bank of Portugal.
The financial instruments and credit rights pledged are affected indistinctly to the guarantee of repayment of capital, interest, and expenses of all credits that the Bank of Portugal holds against the direct participant and that have been granted within the framework of the First Clause.

Fourth Clause
(Amortization)
Whenever, during the term of the Agreement, there is amortization, settlement, or default of the credit rights or financial instruments subject to financial pledge, the amount of the credit opening fixed by the Bank of Portugal shall be reduced accordingly, unless the direct participant proceeds to its replacement or reinforcement of the financial pledge.

Fifth Clause
(Other Obligations of the Direct Participant Regarding Credit Rights) The direct participant undertakes to:

Act as faithful depositary, on behalf of the Bank of Portugal, of the originals of the contracts regarding credit rights over third parties given as collateral, entered into between the direct participant and the debtors.
Deliver to the Bank of Portugal, when requested, the contracts referred to in the previous number, or authorize their consultation at the direct participant's premises.
Not fix any restrictions in the loan contract on the mobilization and realization of the credit resulting from the loan in favor of the Eurosystem, i.e., in favor of the national central banks of the countries that have adopted the euro.
Not use the credit rights given as collateral to the Bank of Portugal to secure credits against third parties or for any other purposes.
Inform the Bank of Portugal, no later than the following business day, about any early repayments of the credit rights given as collateral, as well as about downgrades in the credit rating of the debtor or other subsequent materially relevant changes that may affect the collateral provided.
In the event of default by the direct participant, keep in a separate account, for the benefit of the Bank of Portugal, the amounts related to any payments made by the debtor of the bank loan.
Obtain the waiver from debtors, in writing or other legally equivalent form, of the rights of set-off against their respective institution and the Bank of Portugal, as well as of the rights arising from bank secrecy rules, in contracts entered into from November 2, 2012.

Sixth Clause
(Proof Documents)

In the event that the direct participant does not have sufficient funds in their main cash account (CNP) in TARGET-PT, used exclusively for the provision of a value reserve, the Bank of Portugal proceeds to the liquidity transfer to the SICOI guarantee fund account in TARGET-PT.
After the settlement of the liquidity transfer in TARGET-PT:
a) The Bank of Portugal immediately sends the participant a proof document of the execution of the operation, via email, which must contain a copy of the operation details, as present on the TARGET-PT query screen; b) The participant must confirm, immediately via email, the receipt of the information regarding the transfer made.
The proof documents of the transfer made, together with the provisions of this Agreement and the Instructions, constitute sufficient proof of the terms agreed between the participant and the Bank of Portugal for that operation. In the event of any conflict between the proof documents and the provisions of this Agreement and the Instructions, the proof documents shall prevail, but only with respect to the operation to which they relate.

Seventh Clause
(Communications and Information)

The direct participant shall inform the Bank of Portugal of the identity of the person or persons, who, by obligating it, are authorized to make communications within the scope of this Agreement, and to update this information in the same manner, when necessary.
Communications and information to be made under the Agreement, which include, notably, changes to the contract thus constituted, the declaration of the existence and validity of the credit rights, the constitution of the financial pledge, and the alteration of the set of credit rights constituting it, must be sent to the recipient in writing, via certified or registered mail, or by email.
Any communication or information to be made under the Agreement becomes effective:
a) If delivered in person or by unregistered mail, at the moment it comes to the power of the recipient; b) If sent by registered mail, on the date of receipt fixed by the postmark; c) If sent by email, at the moment of receipt of the transmission.
The previous number does not apply when the actual or presumed receipt of the communication takes place after the close of the respective business day or on a non-business day; in this case, it is considered that such communication comes to the power of the recipient on the next business day.
Direct participants must communicate to the Bank of Portugal the change of their postal and email address.
All telephone communications related to operations carried out within the scope of this Agreement may be recorded.

Eighth Clause
(Right of Disposal)

With the constitution of the collateral, the Bank of Portugal exercises the right of disposal over the financial instruments and cash given as collateral, being able to proceed to their alienation or encumbrance, as if it were the owner, in accordance with Article 9 of Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8.
For the purposes of the provision in the previous number, the exercise of the right of disposal shall be duly mentioned in the respective account registration.
The parties attribute to the transmission of the ownership of the financial instruments to the Bank of Portugal the effects of the exercise of the right of disposal and/or appropriation, in the event of default by the Institution, without any additional registration in the respective account being necessary for the purposes of applying the aforementioned decree.
When Portuguese law is not the competent law to regulate the requirements necessary for the constitution of the financial pledge over the financial instruments, the direct participant shall proceed, in the shortest possible time, to fill in all the legal requirements required by the competent law so that the financial instruments are made available to the Bank of Portugal on terms equivalent to those provided in Article 9 of Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8.
The interest and other patrimonial rights inherent to the financial instruments belong to the direct participant, obliging the Bank of Portugal to proceed to their respective transfer to the direct participant as established in the Instructions, on the same day, except if on that date the financial instruments given as collateral are not sufficient to cover the financing provided, in which case they will be retained as long as necessary.
The Bank of Portugal will disclose to direct participants the corporate events related to the pledged financial instruments of which it has knowledge.

Ninth Clause
(Lack of Payment and Default)

In the event of non-payment of any amounts that the direct participant must settle, the Bank of Portugal may execute the financial pledge, without the need for any notice, notification, or formality, (i) being able to make itself the credit rights, financial instruments, and cash, through sale or appropriation, whether compensating their value or applying it to settle the guaranteed obligations and/or (ii) pay itself from the net product of the sale of these financial instruments, up to the necessary amount, and/or (iii) demand from the direct participant the payment of any remaining debt, based on this Agreement.
It is the responsibility of the direct participant to pay all procedural expenses or other expenses related to them.
In the case of appropriation of the credit rights by the Bank of Portugal, their value is, according to the will of the parties, what is obtained in the cession of them to third parties, and, in the event of default by the debtor, what results from execution proceedings.
The Bank of Portugal undertakes to return to the direct participant the amount corresponding to the difference between the value of the pledged credit rights and the amount of the financing provided, after, (i) in the case of cession to third parties of the pledged credit rights, the receipt of that value, (ii) the maturity date of the credit rights or (iii) in execution proceedings thereof.
Without prejudice to the provisions in the previous numbers, the default in fulfillment, by the direct participant, of the obligation to pay the outstanding balance confers on the Bank of Portugal the right to demand default interest calculated at the rate of the marginal lending facility plus 2.5 percentage points, according to the Actual Number of Days/360 convention, during the period of default, including the day of constituting in default and excluding the day on which payment is made.

Tenth Clause
(Default)

The default of this Agreement as well as the occurrence of any of the situations that, according to the provisions in the Instructions regulating SICOI and the collateral management system used by the Bank of Portugal at any given time, constitute default by the direct participant, determine the early maturity of all its obligations and confer on the Bank of Portugal the right to satisfy its credits against it through set-off.
In situations of default, the Bank of Portugal may:
a) Realize the financial collateral (i) through sale or appropriation of the financial instruments, or (ii) make itself the credit rights over third parties, whether compensating their value or applying it to settle the covered financial obligations; b) Make itself the cash given as collateral.
The evaluation of the credit rights and financial instruments is carried out by the Bank of Portugal according to the criteria and methods used at the time of their mobilization.
If the obligations of the direct participant arising from this Agreement are not fulfilled in a timely manner, the credit grant is automatically suspended until they are fulfilled.

Eleventh Clause
(Unit of the Agreement and Assignment of Contractual Position)

The Operations are regulated by the provisions of this Agreement and the Instructions, and considered as a whole - as a single contractual relationship, thus recognized by the parties - for the purposes of their resolution and set-off, so that the default of any of the obligations of the direct participant in one Operation constitutes or may constitute (depending on the understanding of the Bank of Portugal) default of all other operations.
The provisions of this Agreement override any existing contracts between the parties that contain general terms and conditions for the Operations. Each provision and agreement contained in this Agreement must be treated separately from any other provision or agreement of the same Agreement and shall have legal force despite any other provision or agreement not having it.
The rights and obligations of direct participants arising from this Agreement and the operations covered by it shall not, in any case, be assigned to third parties, nor negotiated in any form, without the prior and express written consent of the Bank of Portugal.

Twelfth Clause
(Term and Termination)

The Agreement has an indefinite duration.
The Agreement may be terminated at any time, by notification of termination by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, the notification producing effects thirty days after its receipt.
The Agreement will continue to govern the operations in progress, contracted between the parties before the termination produces its effects.
After the delivery of a termination notification, no new Operation shall be carried out under the provisions of this Agreement.

Thirteenth Clause
(Jurisdiction and Applicable Law)

The operations carried out under this Agreement are subject to Portuguese law in general and, in particular, to the provisions in the Instructions.
For any dispute, notably regarding the validity, interpretation, and application of this Agreement, as well as the resolution of any conflicts, a voluntary arbitral tribunal shall be competent, constituted in accordance with the applicable law.
The tribunal shall function in Lisbon and its object shall be defined in the arbitration agreement, unless a restriction is decided by the arbitrators at the request of any of the parties.
Nothing limits the right of the Bank of Portugal, at its exclusive discretion, to initiate any actions in any national or foreign jurisdiction.

The settlement of operations processed in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem is based on a risk management model based on the pre-funding of a technical account of SICOI, held by the Bank of Portugal and operated directly by the Bank of Portugal or by the processor entity designated by it, as referred to in Title II.E of the SICOI Regulation (hereinafter, processor entity).

This pre-funding must be ensured by the Direct Participant in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem (hereinafter, Participant), through the transfer of the funds necessary to carry out operations in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem to the SICOI technical account, thus serving the purpose of guaranteeing the financial settlement of the payment operations processed in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem.

According to the defined technical operating model, a register account is assigned to each Participant, which details, at all times, the funds available in their favor in the SICOI technical account. The balance available in each Participant's register account is affected, by the Bank of Portugal, directly, or by the processor entity, in real time: i) by liquidity transfers (credits and debits) carried out between the dedicated cash account of the TARGET immediate payment settlement service (CND TIPS) for the settlement of immediate transfers indicated by them and the SICOI technical account; and ii) by the debits and credits corresponding to the processing of immediate transfers involving the Participant or any of the indirect participants represented by them.

In this context, it is considered that the funds transferred to the SICOI technical account by the Participant, or in their favor, are susceptible of constituting financial collateral, in the modality of fiduciary alienation as security, under the terms and for the purposes of the legal regime established by Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8, in which the Bank of Portugal, as owner of SICOI, is the beneficiary of this collateral, and the Direct Participant in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem is the provider of the collateral.

The Bank of Portugal, as beneficiary, and the Participant, as provider, are eligible subjects for the application of Decree-Law No. 105/2004, in accordance with Article 3., paragraph 1, letters a), b) and c), sub-letter i), respectively.

The funds transferred to the SICOI technical account constitute cash, under the terms and for the purposes of letter a) of Article 5., paragraph 1 of Decree-Law No. 105/20104, and are therefore susceptible of constituting financial collateral, under the terms and for the purposes of the aforementioned legal regime.

From the regime applicable to fiduciary alienation as security, it follows that, once transferred from the dedicated cash account of the TARGET immediate payment settlement service (CND TIPS) for the settlement of immediate transfers indicated by the Participant to the SICOI technical account, the funds can be considered effectively provided, under the terms and for the purposes of paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of Article 6. of Decree-Law No. 105/2004.

The transfer of funds to the SICOI technical account, held by the Bank of Portugal, carried out by the Participant, or in their favor, are registered electronically, and are therefore susceptible of proof by registration on electronic media, under the terms and for the purposes of Article 7. of Decree-Law No. 105/2004.

In accordance with Article 6., paragraph 1, letter a) of Decree-Law No. 221/2000, the guarantees constituted within the SICOI framework in favor of the Bank of Portugal are not affected by the opening of an insolvency process against a Participant, and may be executed by their respective holders, with the remaining balance reverting to the insolvent estate, in accordance with Article 6., paragraph 2 of the same legal instrument.

Thus, Participants in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem are subject not only to the rules established in the Bank of Portugal Instruction that establishes the SICOI Regulation and in the operating manual of the said subsystem (hereinafter, operating manual), which is an integral part of it, but also to the terms and conditions contained in the clauses of this framework agreement for financial collateral in the modality of fiduciary alienation as security, in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8.

First Clause
(Object)

The funds credited in the SICOI technical account held by the Bank of Portugal by the Participant, or in their favor, within the scope of the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem, constitute the object of this framework agreement for financial collateral in the modality of fiduciary alienation as security, framed by the regime established by Decree-Law No. 105/2004, of May 8.
The fiduciary alienation as security constituted under the terms of this framework agreement aims to guarantee the monetary obligations assumed by the Participant within the scope of their participation in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem.

Second Clause
(Credit Movement of the Technical Account)

The Participant accepts that the Bank of Portugal, or the processor entity, may debit the dedicated cash account of the TARGET immediate payment settlement service (CND TIPS) for the settlement of immediate transfers indicated by them and credit the SICOI technical account, in accordance with the provisions of the SICOI Regulation and its respective operating manual, which is an integral part of it.
The ownership of the funds credited in the SICOI technical account by the Participant, or in their favor, transfers to the Bank of Portugal, as security, and these funds automatically become part of the object of this framework agreement.

Third Clause
(Debit Movement of the Technical Account)

The Participant accepts that the Bank of Portugal, or the processor entity, may debit the SICOI technical account and credit the dedicated cash account of the TARGET immediate payment settlement service (CND TIPS) for the settlement of immediate transfers indicated by them, in accordance with the provisions of the SICOI Regulation and its respective operating manual, which is an integral part of it.
The ownership of the funds transferred from the SICOI technical account held by the Bank of Portugal to the dedicated cash account of the TARGET immediate payment settlement service (CND TIPS) for the settlement of immediate transfers indicated by the Participant transfers to the Participant with the credit in that account, ceasing at that moment to be part of the object of this framework agreement.

Fourth Clause
(Set-off)
The Participant recognizes and accepts that the obligation of the Bank of Portugal to return the funds fiduciarily alienated as security is fulfilled through automatic set-off with the obligations assumed by the Participant within the scope of their participation in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem, which are reflected, at all times, in the Participant's register account, under the terms and conditions provided for in the SICOI Regulation and its respective operating manual, which is an integral part of it.

Fifth Clause
(Execution of the Collateral)
The Participant recognizes and accepts that the cessation of their participation in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem, as well as their suspension or exclusion from the said Subsystem, determine the early maturity of the Bank of Portugal's obligation to return the collateral to the Participant and the fulfillment thereof by set-off in accordance with the previous Clause.

Sixth Clause
(Term and Termination)

This framework agreement has an indefinite duration, producing effects as long as the Participant's direct participation in the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem lasts.
This framework agreement may be terminated at any time, by means of notification of termination by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, with the notification producing effects thirty business days after its receipt.
The Participant recognizes and accepts that the termination of this framework agreement determines their exclusion from the SICOI Immediate Transfer Subsystem and the early maturity of the Bank of Portugal's obligation to return the collateral to the Participant and the fulfillment thereof by set-off in accordance with the Fourth Clause.

Seventh Clause
(Jurisdiction and Applicable Law)

The operations carried out under this framework agreement are subject to Portuguese law in general and, in particular, to the provisions of the Bank of Portugal Instructions.
For any dispute, namely regarding the validity, interpretation and application of this framework agreement, as well as for the resolution of any conflicts, a voluntary Arbitral Tribunal is competent, to be constituted in accordance with the applicable Law.
The Tribunal will operate in Lisbon and its object will be defined in the arbitration agreement, unless there is a restriction that the arbitrators shall decide at the request of any of the parties, and the decision will be rendered according to equity and without appeal.
Nothing limits the right of the Bank of Portugal, at its exclusive discretion, to initiate any actions in any national or foreign jurisdiction.

The Bank of Portugal makes available the Account Derivation Identifier Service – Proxy Lookup and Beneficiary/Payer Confirmation – Confirmation of Payee/Payer (hereinafter, “PLCP service”) to participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI established in Portugal.

With the availability of this service, the Bank of Portugal intends, on the one hand, to strengthen security in the execution of payment operations and, on the other hand, to contribute to better usability and user experience of payment service users.

The PLCP service is provided in accordance with the following Terms and Conditions:

I. OBJECT AND ADHESION

Scope
The Bank of Portugal makes available the PLCP service composed of three functionalities:
a) The Account Derivation Identifier functionality – Proxy Lookup (PL); b) The Single Beneficiary Confirmation functionality – Confirmation of Payee single (CoPS); c) The Bulk Beneficiary/Payer Confirmation functionality – Confirmation of Payee/Payer bulk (CoPB).
Eligible Institutions
2.1. The Bank of Portugal makes the PLCP service available to participants in the SICOI clearing and settlement subsystems who are established in Portugal.
2.2. PSP participants in SICOI who are established in Portugal must meet the eligibility criteria and request adherence in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
Adhesion Request
3.1. Participants in the immediate transfer subsystem, in the SEPA version of the credit transfer subsystem and in the direct debit subsystem of SICOI, established in Portugal, expressly accept these Terms and Conditions within the scope of their participation in the said subsystems.
3.2. Adhesion to the PLCP service by participants in SICOI established in Portugal who do not participate in the immediate transfer subsystem, in the SEPA version of the credit transfer subsystem or in the direct debit subsystem of SICOI, is conditioned to the following procedures and requirements:
a) The adhesion process must be initiated by the applicant through the presentation to the Bank of Portugal of an adhesion request to the service in question, indicating whether they wish to adhere to the Account Derivation Identifier functionality (PL), the Beneficiary Confirmation functionalities (CoPS and/or CoPB) or all three functionalities, to be approved by the Bank of Portugal; b) Adhesion is dependent on obtaining certification that the applicant meets the necessary technical and operational conditions, defined in the Operating Manual of the Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Payer Confirmation Service; c) The applicant must accept these 'Terms and Conditions'.
3.3. The acceptance of these Terms and Conditions, in accordance with letter c) number 3.2, is carried out by submitting the “PLCP Service Adhesion Form”.
3.4. The form mentioned in the previous paragraph is available on the institutional website of the Bank of Portugal (www.bportugal.pt), and must be signed by whoever has the powers to perform the act, on behalf of the applicant, according to the signature form to be sent to the Bank of Portugal.

II. ACCOUNT DERIVATION IDENTIFIER FUNCTIONALITY
4. Account Derivation Identifier Functionality
4.1. The PL functionality allows the initiation and receipt of SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate transfers based on one of the “user identifiers” provided for in the Operating Manual of the Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Payer Confirmation Service.
4.2. The availability of the PL functionality is based on a database, managed by the Bank of Portugal, where the associations between “user identifiers” and their respective “payment account identifier” – the International Bank Account Number (IBAN), are recorded.
4.3. Within the scope of the PL functionality, participants must communicate to the Bank of Portugal, upon the user's request, the following information:
a) Regarding individuals: the “user identifier” that they wish to associate, the Tax Identification Number (NIF) and the IBAN of the payment account (“payment account identifier”); b) Regarding legal entities: the “user identifier” that they wish to associate and the IBAN of the payment account (“payment account identifier”);
4.4. The Bank of Portugal ensures the centralization and maintenance of the information transmitted to it by participants, as well as the response to consultation requests made by them.
4.5. The information to be transmitted by participants to the Bank of Portugal must respect the technical specifications provided for in the Operating Manual of the Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Payer Confirmation Service.
4.6. Participants may not charge any commission to payment service users for the use of the PL functionality.

Association of the “user identifier” to the “payment account identifier”
5.1. The participant where the beneficiary's payment account is domiciled must communicate to the Bank of Portugal the association of a “user identifier” to the “payment account identifier”, as soon as it is requested by the payment service user.
5.2. The participant where the beneficiary's payment account is domiciled must allow payment service users to associate their “user identifiers” with their respective “payment account identifier”, at minimum, through the remote electronic channels in which SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate transfers are initiated or consulted, excluding applications operated by third parties and automated teller machine networks.
5.3. The participant where the beneficiary's payment account is domiciled must ensure that, in the same channels where association is allowed in accordance with point 5.2., payment service users can consult, at all times, whether their “user identifiers” are associated with their respective “payment account identifier”.
5.4. The association between “user identifiers” and the “payment account identifier” and its consultation may only be requested by the participant where the payment account of the payment service user that they wish to associate or consult is domiciled.
5.5. At any given moment, a specific “user identifier” may only be associated with one “payment account identifier”.
Alteration or elimination of the association of the “user identifier” to the “payment account identifier”
6.1. The participant where the beneficiary's payment account is domiciled must, at all times, allow payment service users to alter or eliminate the association between their “user identifier” and the “payment account identifier”.
6.2. The participant where the beneficiary's payment account is domiciled must allow payment service users to request the alteration or elimination of the association of their “user identifier” to the “payment account identifier”, in the channels where association is allowed, in accordance with point 5.2.
6.3. The alteration of the association of the “user identifier” to the “payment account identifier” may only be requested by the participant where the payment account of the payment service user that they wish to associate is domiciled.
6.4. The elimination of the association between the “user identifier” and the “payment account identifier” may only be requested by the participant where the payment account of the payment service user that they wish to dissociate is domiciled.
Initiation of payment operations using the Account Derivation Identifier functionality
7.1. The participant where the payer's payment account is domiciled must allow payment service users to initiate SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate credit transfers using the PL functionality through the channels, remote and in-person, in which SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate transfers are made available in a non-bulk manner, excluding applications operated by third parties and automated teller machine networks.
7.2. The PL functionality may not be used by payment service users to create recurring transfer orders, nor to create schedules.
7.3. Any use of the PL functionality is carried out by participants on behalf of payment service users, at their initiative, and in preparation for a payment operation that is predictably to be carried out.
7.4. The participant where the payer's payment account is domiciled must implement control mechanisms that prevent abusive use of the PL functionality by payment service users, namely the carrying out of consultations that do not result in the effective initiation of payment operations.
Responsibility for transmitted information
8.1. The completeness, currency and accuracy of the data submitted by the participant within the scope of the PL functionality is their exclusive responsibility.
8.2. The transmitted data must be duly verified and certified by the participants, ensuring, namely, that the “user identifier” effectively belongs to the payment service user.
8.3. The “user identifiers” of individuals should be the same as those registered and certified with the participant for interaction with the payment service user. If the “user identifier” is the telephone number, it must be registered and certified for the purposes of strong customer authentication, as provided for in the Legal Regime of Payment Services and Electronic Money (RJSPME), approved as an annex to Decree-Law No. 91/2018, of November 12.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
8.4. Whenever a participant, on its own initiative or at the user's initiative, verifies that there has been an omission or inaccuracy in the communication of data, it is obliged to proceed with immediate rectification.
8.5. Requests made by payment service users, through electronic channels, aimed at associating a "user identifier" with a "payment account identifier", as well as subsequent changes or deletions, must be validated by the participant through the application of strong customer authentication. When the request is made through non-electronic channels, the participant must ensure the collection of elements that allow proof that the instruction was effectively transmitted by the client.
8.6. The closure of a payment service user's payment account implies that the participant must, by the end of the day on which the account is closed, communicate to the Bank of Portugal the elimination of any associations that are active for the respective "payment account identifier".
8.7. Participants must provide, for example in the framework contract with payment service users, that the participants or the Bank of Portugal may eliminate any association that is active, for objectively justified reasons related to the security of the PL functionality or suspicion of fraudulent use thereof. In this case, participants must inform payment service users of the elimination of the PL association, justifying the reason, if possible before such elimination or, at the latest, immediately after it.
8.8. Participants must transmit to the Bank of Portugal, as soon as they become aware of them, any anomalies, fraudulent actions by third parties and/or attempts to manipulate data relating to the use of the PL functionality, in the manner provided for in point V of these Terms and Conditions.

III. BENEFICIARY/DEBTOR CONFIRMATION FUNCTIONALITIES

Singular Beneficiary Confirmation Functionality
9.1. The CoPS functionality allows the participant where the payer's payment account is domiciled to make available to the payment service user information about the beneficiary of the SEPA credit transfer or the SEPA instant credit transfer.
9.2. Within the scope of the CoPS functionality, the participant where the payer's payment account for the SEPA credit transfer or SEPA instant credit transfer is domiciled must submit, to the participant where the beneficiary's payment account is domiciled, via the Bank of Portugal, the "payment account identifier" (the IBAN) of the destination account of the payment operation, entered by the payer.
9.3. The participant where the beneficiary's payment account is domiciled must, via the Bank of Portugal, send in response to the request of the participant where the payer's payment account for the SEPA credit transfer or SEPA instant credit transfer is domiciled, referred to in the previous number:
a) The name of the first holder, in the case of accounts held by natural persons; b) The corporate name and, if applicable, the trade name, in the case of legal entities.
9.4. Any use of the CoPS functionality is carried out by the participants where the payers' payment accounts are domiciled on behalf of payment service users, at their initiative, and in a preparatory manner for a payment operation that will presumably be performed.
9.5. Participants must implement control mechanisms that prevent abusive use of the CoPS functionality by payment service users. In compliance with this provision, participants must, at a minimum, ensure the imposition of a maximum number of daily queries to the CoPS functionality by payment service users, without a payment operation being executed. For this purpose, participants must respect the specifications provided for in the Operating Manual of the Service for Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation.
9.6. Participants cannot charge any commission to payment service users for the use of the CoPS functionality.
Initiation of payment operations using the Singular Beneficiary Confirmation Functionality
10.1. The participant where the payer's payment account is domiciled is obliged to allow the payer to use the CoPS functionality when the SEPA credit transfer or SEPA instant credit transfer is initiated individually, or during the creation of a recurring transfer order or a schedule, and the payer is in direct interaction with the participant.
10.2. By way of derogation from the previous number, in the case of accounts domiciled with the same participant, the participant may, alternatively, opt to obtain beneficiary confirmation directly in its internal systems, based on an autonomous legal basis, notably regarding compliance with legislation on data protection.
10.3. In compliance with number 10.1, the participant where the payer's payment account is domiciled must present to the payer, at a moment prior to the initiation of the SEPA credit transfer or SEPA instant credit transfer, the name or corporate name and, if applicable, the trade name, of the first holder of the destination payment account for the funds, which were transmitted to it, via the Bank of Portugal, by the payment service provider of the beneficiary.
10.4. The participant where the payer's payment account is domiciled must allow payment service users to use the CoPS functionality in the same remote and face-to-face channels in which SEPA credit transfers or SEPA instant credit transfers are made available, when users are in direct interaction with the participants.
10.5. In the event that technical issues temporarily prevent the availability of the CoPS functionality and consequently the possibility of presenting to the payer the name or corporate name and, if applicable, the trade name of the first holder of the destination payment account for the funds, the participant must inform the payer of this fact. The payer must still have the possibility to proceed with the payment operation.
Grouped Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation Functionality
11.1. The CoPB functionality allows the participant where the payer/creditor's payment account is domiciled to make available to the payment service user the possibility to confirm that SEPA credit transfers, SEPA instant credit transfers, or SEPA direct debits are made to the intended beneficiaries' or debtors' payment accounts.
11.2. Within the scope of the CoPB functionality, the participant where the payer's payment account for SEPA credit transfers or SEPA instant credit transfers is domiciled, or the creditor of SEPA direct debits, must submit, via the Bank of Portugal, to the participants where the beneficiaries' payment accounts for those transfers or the debtors' payment accounts for those direct debits are domiciled, the "payment account identifiers" to which the payment operations are destined, accompanied by the Tax Identification Numbers (NIF) or Corporate Tax Identification Numbers (NIPC) of the beneficiaries.
11.3. The participant where the beneficiary/debtor's payment account is domiciled must, via the Bank of Portugal, send in response to the request of the participant where the payer's payment account for the SEPA credit transfer or SEPA instant credit transfer or the creditor of SEPA direct debits is domiciled, for each beneficiary/debtor, information on whether the NIF/NIPC belongs, or not, to one of the holders of the payment account.
11.4. Any use of the CoPB functionality is carried out by the participants on behalf of payment service users, at their initiative, and in a preparatory manner for payment operations that will presumably be performed.
11.5. Participants must implement control mechanisms that prevent abusive use of the CoPB functionality by payment service users.
11.6. Participants cannot charge any commission to payment service users for the use of the CoPB functionality.
Initiation of payment operations using the Grouped Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation Functionality
12.1. The participant where the payer/creditor's payment account is domiciled is obliged to make the CoPB functionality available to the payer/creditor when SEPA credit transfers, SEPA instant credit transfers, or SEPA direct debits are initiated by the payer/creditor in a grouped manner.
12.2. By way of derogation from the previous number, in the case of accounts domiciled with the same participant:
a) held by different payment service users, the participant may, alternatively, opt to obtain beneficiary/debtor confirmation directly in its internal systems, based on an autonomous legal basis, notably regarding compliance with legislation on data protection; b) held by the same payment service user, the participant is not obliged to use the CoPB functionality.
12.3. In compliance with number 12.1:
a) The participant where the payer's payment account is domiciled must allow the payer, at a moment prior to the initiation of SEPA credit transfers or SEPA instant credit transfers, to use the service to confirm the ownership of the beneficiaries' accounts, according to the information transmitted to it by the payment service provider of the beneficiary; b) The participant where the creditor's payment account is domiciled must allow the creditor, at a moment prior to the initiation of SEPA direct debits, to use the service to confirm the ownership of the debtors' accounts, according to the information transmitted to it by the payment service provider of the debtor.
12.4. The participant where the payer/creditor's payment account is domiciled must allow payment service users to use the CoPB functionality in the same channels in which SEPA credit transfers or SEPA instant credit transfers are made available to payers and SEPA direct debits to creditors, initiated in a grouped manner.
12.5. In the event that technical issues temporarily prevent the availability of the CoPB functionality and consequently the possibility of confirming the ownership of payment accounts, the participant must inform the payer/creditor of this fact. The payer/creditor must still have the possibility to proceed with the payment operations.
Communication of information within the scope of CoPS and CoPB functionalities
13.1. The availability of the CoPS and CoPB functionalities relies on the information held by participants at any given time, not presupposing its centralization at the Bank of Portugal.
13.2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous number, the Bank of Portugal ensures secure exchange of information between participants.
13.3. The information to be transmitted by participants to the Bank of Portugal must respect the technical specifications provided for in the Operating Manual of the Service for Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation.
Responsibility for transmitted information
14.1. The completeness, timeliness, and accuracy of the data necessary for the use of the CoPS and CoPB functionalities are the exclusive responsibility of the participants.
14.2. Participants must transmit to the Bank of Portugal, as soon as they become aware of them, any anomalies, fraudulent actions by third parties and/or attempts to manipulate data relating to the use of the CoPS and CoPB functionalities, in the manner provided for in point V of these Terms and Conditions.

IV. DATA RETENTION

Data retention period
15.1. Information exchanged between the Bank of Portugal and participants, within the scope of the PL functionality, is retained for the duration that the association of the "user identifier" is active and, furthermore, for a period of 2 years after its elimination.
15.2. Information exchanged between the Bank of Portugal and participants, within the scope of the CoPS and CoPB functionalities, is retained for a period of 2 years.

V. REQUEST AND PROVISION OF INFORMATION BY PARTICIPANTS

Request and Provision of information
16.1. The request and provision of information within the scope of the PLCP service should be directed to the Bank of Portugal, preferably through the Services Portal, made available to participants for this purpose.
16.2. In exceptional cases, participants may direct their communications to the Bank of Portugal via email: plcp@bportugal.pt, or by postal mail addressed to:
Direction of the Payment Systems Department of the Bank of Portugal, Av. Álvaro Pais, 2 | 1600-007 Lisbon
16.3. All requests and provisions of information must be drafted in Portuguese or English.

VI. SERVICE OPERATING MANUAL

Operating manual
17.1. The Bank of Portugal makes available to participants the Operating Manual of the Service for Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation, where the technical and operational requirements inherent to the functionalities composing the service are defined in detail, namely those related to transmission and access to data.
17.2. Changes to the Operating Manual of the Service for Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Debtor Confirmation are made available to participants up to two months before the date of entry into production of the changes, with notification sent by email to the contacts designated for this purpose by each participant.

VII. APPLICABLE LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Provision of the service
18.1. The Bank of Portugal is unrelated to the relationships established between participants and payment service users.
18.2. Participants must ensure that interactions with the PLCP service are carried out in compliance with the law and these Terms and Conditions.
18.3. Participants undertake, inter alia, to refrain from using the PLCP service for illicit purposes or effects harmful to the rights and interests of payment service users.
Applicable jurisdiction
Query and data exchange operations between participants, carried out within the scope of the PLCP service, are subject to Portuguese law in general and, in particular, to the provisions of the Instructions of the Bank of Portugal.
Dispute resolution
20.1. For any dispute, notably regarding the validity, interpretation, and application of these Terms and Conditions, as well as for the resolution of any conflicts, a voluntary Arbitration Tribunal competent under applicable law shall be constituted.
20.2. The Tribunal will operate in Lisbon and its object will be defined in the arbitration agreement, unless restriction which the arbitrators shall decide upon request of any of the parties, and the decision will be rendered according to equity and without appeal.
20.3. Nothing limits the right of the Bank of Portugal, at its sole discretion, to initiate any actions in any national or foreign jurisdiction.
Professional secrecy
21.1. Participants must fully, scrupulously, and timely comply with the rules regarding the duty of professional secrecy provided for in the General Regime of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, approved by Decree-Law No. 298/92, of December 31, and other current legislation, notably ensuring that they do not reveal or use facts or elements of the client's relationship with the participant.
21.2. Participants must ensure that, pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 79 of the General Regime of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, approved by Decree-Law No. 298/92, of December 31, they have authorization from the payment service user to share, with the payer/beneficiary of the payment operation, the information necessary for the functioning of the PLCP service, for example through the framework contract with the payment service user.
Data protection
22.1. Participants must guarantee full, scrupulous, and timely compliance with applicable data protection legislation, notably Regulation (EU) No. 679/2016, of April 27, concerning the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR).
22.2. In the case of the PL functionality, payment service users have the right to know the information concerning them contained in the Bank of Portugal's database and, if applicable, the right to access their personal data, namely, the purpose of data processing, the categories of personal data in question, and available information about the origin of such data. Payment service users also have the right to request rectification or update from the Bank of Portugal when they verify the existence of errors or omissions.
22.3. Any requests for information or clarification related to the exercise of rights regarding personal data protection within the functionalities provided for in the PLCP service should be directed to the Bank of Portugal, via email: plcp@bportugal.pt.
22.4. Any complaints related to the exercise of rights regarding personal data protection within the functionalities provided for in the PLCP service should be directed to the Data Protection Officer of the Bank of Portugal, via email: encarregado.protecao.dados@bportugal.pt.
22.5. Compliance with the duty to inform data subjects about processing and the exercise of their rights is ensured through the provision of information on the Bank's institutional website.

Suspension or exclusion from service provision
24.1. The Bank of Portugal may suspend the provision of service without prior notice if any of the following situations occur:
a) Opening of insolvency proceedings; b) Revocation of authorization as a payment service provider under the Legal Regime for Payment Services and Electronic Money.
24.2. Suspension consists of the temporary cessation of the rights and obligations of a Participant during a period of time determined by the Bank of Portugal.
24.3. The Bank of Portugal may cease service provision to the Participant, with 15 business days' prior notice, when the Participant fails to comply with the duties set forth in the SICOI Regulation, its Annexes, and the Operating Manual for the Account Derivation Identifier and Beneficiary/Payer Confirmation Service.
24.4. Suspension or exclusion of a Participant may also be determined if any occurrence related to them is verified, which, in the opinion of the Bank of Portugal, prejudices the performance of its duties, as described in its Organic Law, the General Regime for Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, and the Statutes of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank, or constitutes a risk of a prudential or systemic nature.
24.5. In exercising the discretionary power referred to in paragraph 24.4, the Bank of Portugal will take into account, among other aspects, the impact of the identified non-compliance situations on the stability and security of SICOI.
24.6. The Bank of Portugal is not liable for any losses incurred by Participants as a result of their suspension or exclusion from the service.
24.7. Exclusion from the service implies exclusion from the SICOI subsystems for which adherence to the service is a condition of participation.

forwards requests and responses between payment service providers, for the verification of the payee at the initiation of SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate credit transfers; and
performs payee verification procedures, on behalf of the payment service providers of the beneficiaries of SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate credit transfers, ensuring the implementation of the verification algorithm.
The VoP service is provided in accordance with the following Terms and Conditions:
I. OBJECT AND ADHERENCE

Scope
1.1. The Bank of Portugal makes the VoP service available with the objective of allowing adherents to comply with Regulation (EU) No. 260/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March (SEPA Regulation), regarding the obligation to make available to their customers a mechanism that allows verifying the payee at the initiation of SEPA credit transfers, traditional or immediate.
1.2. The VoP service observes the technical requirements defined in the EPC Scheme Verification Of Payee.
Eligible Institutions
2.1. Eligible to adhere to the VoP service are payment service providers authorized under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market (PSP).
2.2. Eligible institutions may adhere to one or both modes of adherence to the VoP service:

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Gazette No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
a) Ordering Adherent – adheres to the VoP service to submit payee verification requests regarding SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate credit transfers from their ordering customers; b) Beneficiary Adherent – adheres to the VoP service to respond to payee verification requests regarding SEPA credit transfers or SEPA immediate credit transfers intended for their beneficiary customers.
2.3. PSPs wishing to adhere to the VoP service must request adherence in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
3. Request for adherence or cessation
3.1. Adherence to the VoP service is conditioned by the following procedures and requirements:
a) The adherence process must be initiated by the applicant through the submission to the Bank of Portugal of a request for adherence to the VoP service, to be approved by the Bank of Portugal; b) Adherence is dependent on obtaining certification by the Bank of Portugal that the applicant meets the necessary technical and operational conditions, defined in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service; c) The applicant must prove adherence to the EPC Scheme Verification Of Payee; d) The applicant must accept these Terms and Conditions.
3.2. Acceptance of the Terms and Conditions referred to in the previous paragraph is effected by signing the 'VoP Adherence Form'.
3.3. The form mentioned in the previous paragraph is available on the institutional website of the Bank of Portugal (www.bportugal.pt), and must be signed by someone with powers to act on behalf of the applicant, according to a signature form to be sent to the Bank of Portugal.
II. PAYEE VERIFICATION SERVICE
4. Payee Verification
4.1. The VoP service allows the PSP of the SEPA credit transfer or SEPA immediate credit transfer (Ordering Adherent) to make available to their customer payment service users who initiate SEPA credit transfers and SEPA immediate credit transfers the verification of the payee of the operation.
4.2. The VoP service allows the PSP of the beneficiary of the SEPA credit transfer or SEPA immediate credit transfer (Beneficiary Adherent) to make available to the PSP of the ordering party the verification of the payee of the operation.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Gazette No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
4.3. Payee verification is performed through the correspondence between the name of the payee, as submitted by the ordering party, and the name of the payee registered with the PSP of the beneficiary, as detailed in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service.
4.4. If agreed between the adherent and the Bank of Portugal, payee verification may also be performed using other user identifiers of the payment service provider (“other identifier”), in line with what is established in the EPC Scheme Verification Of Payee.
4.5. Adherents may not charge any commission to payment service users for the use of the VoP service.
5. Ordering Adherent
5.1. Within the scope of the VoP service, the Ordering Adherent must submit, to the PSP of the beneficiary, through the Bank of Portugal, the IBAN and the name of the payee as submitted by the ordering party.
5.2. The Ordering Adherent will receive a response, through the Bank of Portugal, the result of the verification of the correspondence between the name of the payee, as submitted by the ordering party, and the name of the payee registered with the PSP of the beneficiary, as detailed in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service.
5.3. If agreed between the Ordering Adherent and the Bank of Portugal, payee verification may also be performed using another identifier. In this case, the Ordering Adherent must submit, to the PSP of the beneficiary, through the Bank of Portugal, the IBAN and the other identifier of the payment service user.
5.4. The Ordering Adherent will receive a response, through the Bank of Portugal, the result of the verification of the correspondence between the other identifier, as submitted by the ordering party, and the other identifier registered with the PSP of the beneficiary, as detailed in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service.
5.5. Based on the response received from the PSP of the beneficiary, the Ordering Adherent must make available to the ordering party the information obtained.
6. Beneficiary Adherent
6.1. Within the scope of the VoP service, the Beneficiary Adherent must send to the Bank of Portugal the list of names of all account holders associated with the IBAN indicated by the PSP of the ordering party. If agreed between the Beneficiary Adherent and the Bank of Portugal, payee verification may also be performed using another identifier of the payment service user.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Gazette No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
6.2. The Bank of Portugal will perform verification procedures on behalf of the Beneficiary Adherent, using the verification algorithm developed for this purpose. After this procedure, it will share the result with the PSP of the ordering party, as detailed in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service.
7. Communication of information within the scope of the VoP service
7.1. The provision of the VoP service is based on the information held by the Beneficiary Adherents at any given time, not presupposing its centralization at the Bank of Portugal.
7.2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous paragraph, the Bank of Portugal ensures the secure exchange of information between adherents and between them and non-adherent PSPs, in accordance with the EPC Scheme Verification Of Payee.
7.3. The information to be transmitted to the Bank of Portugal by adherents must respect the technical specifications provided in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service.
8. Obligations of the Bank of Portugal
8.1. Within the scope of the provision of the VoP service, the Bank of Portugal assumes the following obligations towards adherents:
a) Keeps the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service aligned with the requirements established in the EPC Scheme Verification Of Payee; b) Processes payee verification requests and their respective responses as defined in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service, 24 hours a day, every day of the year; c) Validates each payee verification request, accepting valid payee verification requests and rejecting invalid payee verification requests, as specified in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service; d) Provides a response to the adherent regarding the reason for the rejection of any payee verification request, as specified in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service; e) Provides all necessary cooperation, namely, providing the adherent, when requested, with relevant information it has regarding a payee verification request; f) Provides the Beneficiary Adherent with information about the verification algorithm, namely regarding match, close match, and no match scenarios; g) Periodically provides adherents with statistical information on payee verification requests processed on their behalf;

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Gazette No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
h) Provides adherents with a 24-hour technical support service and business support during normal working hours; i) Ensures that the VoP service has a secondary processing site located at a distance greater than 30 kilometers from the primary site; j) Executes and periodically tests operational contingency plans and has measures, tools, and security policies that guarantee an adequate level of security in the provision of the VoP service.
8.2. The Bank of Portugal ensures the processing of payee verification requests in accordance with the service levels established in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service.
8.3. By way of derogation from the previous paragraph, with the objective of ensuring the stability of the processing platform, the Bank of Portugal reserves the right to temporarily, in exceptional situations, reduce the service levels established in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service, informing adherents of this fact as soon as possible.
9. Obligations of adherents
9.1. Within the scope of the provision of the VoP service, adherents assume the following obligations:
a) Ensure that services based on the VoP service cannot be used for any other purposes other than confirming information related to the payee of a payment operation; b) Ensure continuous compliance with these Terms and Conditions, laws, regulations, and other applicable legislation in force, namely those regarding bank secrecy, money laundering, and data protection; c) Immediately (without unjustified delay) inform the Bank of Portugal about incidents that affect the proper functioning of the VoP service; d) Ensure the timely renewal of the PSD2 certificate, delivered by the 'Ordering Adherent' to the Bank of Portugal; e) Provide technical support contacts, available 24 hours a day, and business contacts available during business hours; f) Implement control mechanisms that prevent abusive use of the VoP service by payment service users.
9.2. Adherents to the VoP service ensure the processing of requests sent by the Bank of Portugal in accordance with the service levels established in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 Official Gazette No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
10. Liability
10.1. The completeness, currency, and accuracy of the data necessary for the use of the VoP service are the exclusive responsibility of the adherents.
10.2. Adherents must transmit to the Bank of Portugal, as soon as they become aware of them, any anomalies, fraudulent actions by third parties, and/or attempts to manipulate data related to the use of the VoP service, in the manner provided for in point 14 of these Terms and Conditions.
10.3. Without prejudice to their obligations as data controllers within the scope of data protection legislation, the Bank of Portugal shall not be liable for any damages or losses resulting from the non-execution or defective execution of the VoP service, in cases where:
a) The damages or losses arise from transmission errors or technical deficiencies, or are the result of interference or illegitimate interceptions that occur at a moment prior to the sending of information to the Bank of Portugal or after the receipt of information by the adherent; b) The adherent to the VoP service does not respect the requirements defined in these Terms and Conditions and in the Operating Manual for the Payee Verification Service; c) Force majeure situations occur, including, namely, measures taken by public authorities, violent actions, breaks in companies providing services to the Bank of Portugal, strikes, among others; d) The transmission means used by adherents are used improperly or fraudulently.
10.4. The obligations of adherents arising from their adherence to the VoP service are not opposable nor do they exclude their individual liability towards their customers.
10.5. In the case of adherents that communicate with the Bank of Portugal using the BPnet Portal, the liability arising from breakdowns or disruptions in the functioning of said portal will be assessed according to what is provided in the Bank of Portugal Instruction that regulates participation in BPnet, including access to the infrastructure and adherence and provision of services.
10.6. Without prejudice to what is provided in the Bank of Portugal Instruction that regulates participation in BPnet, adherents are responsible for keeping information regarding their interlocutors on the BPnet portal duly updated and for maintaining the confidentiality of the access password to the BPnet portal, with any improper use thereof by third parties being their exclusive responsibility.

Establishing authenticated communications with other PSPs within the scope of VoP for the benefit of the Ordering Adherent; and
Executing the verification procedures provided for in this service for the benefit of the Ordering Adherent.
b) The management and use of the PSD2 certificate issued in the name of the Ordering Adherent obey policies and controls defined by the Bank of Portugal, compatible with applicable standards; c) The Bank of Portugal will keep adequate records of accesses and actions performed on the encryption material of the adhering entity; d) The export, copying, or use of the PSD2 certificate issued in the name of the Ordering Adherent outside the scope of the VoP service is technically prohibited; e) The Bank of Portugal implements all appropriate technical measures to safeguard the confidentiality of the encryption material of the adhering entity, including, but not limited to, mechanisms aimed at preventing the extraction of the encryption material from the secure storage equipment thereof (commonly known as Hardware Security Module - HSM); f) The Bank of Portugal takes the necessary diligence to safeguard and comply with PSD2 Certificates, in consonance with the Certificate Policy/Certification Practice Statement (CP/CPS) of the digital certificate issuing entity; g) The Bank of Portugal informs, without unjustified delay, the Technical Manager of the adhering entity/owner of the PSD2 Certificate about any non-compliance that may compromise the terms, conditions, and responsibilities assumed by the latter with the certificate issuing entity.
III. DATA RETENTION

Location of processing and data retention
12.1. The VoP service is provided from a primary processing site and a secondary processing site located in Portugal, where the data exchanged within the scope of the service are processed and retained.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
12.2. The Bank of Portugal will notify participants if the primary and secondary processing sites change their location.
13. Data retention period
Information exchanged between the Bank of Portugal and participants is retained for a period of 2 years.
IV. INFORMATION REQUEST AND PROVISION BY PARTICIPANTS
14. Information Request and Provision
14.1. The request and provision of information within the scope of the Beneficiary Verification service should be directed to the Bank of Portugal, preferably through the Services Portal, made available to participants for this purpose.
14.2. In exceptional cases, participants may direct their communications to the Bank of Portugal via email: vop@bportugal.pt, or by postal mail addressed to:
Direction of the Payment Systems Department of the Bank of Portugal, Av. Álvaro Pais, 2 | 1600-007 Lisbon.
14.3. All requests and provisions of information must be drafted in Portuguese or English.
V. SERVICE OPERATING MANUAL
15. Operating Manual for the Beneficiary Verification Service
15.1. The Bank of Portugal provides participants with the Operating Manual for the Beneficiary Verification Service, where the technical and operational requirements inherent to the VoP service are defined in detail, including those related to transmission, access to data, and the description of the service level, including their respective updates and revisions.
15.2. Changes to the Operating Manual for the Beneficiary Verification Service are made available to participants up to two months before the date of entry into production of the changes, with email notification sent to the contacts designated for this purpose by each participant.
VI. APPLICABLE LEGAL FRAMEWORK
16. Service provision
16.1. The Bank of Portugal is unrelated to the relationships established between participants and payment service users.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
16.2. Participants must ensure that interactions with the VoP service are carried out in compliance with applicable legislation, namely Regulation (EU) No 260/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 March 2012, and these Terms and Conditions.
16.3. Participants undertake, inter alia, to refrain from using the VoP service for unlawful purposes or to the detriment of the rights and interests of payment service users.
16.4. The Bank of Portugal will share information about the VoP service with the European Payments Council, as required by the beneficiary verification scheme.
17. Applicable jurisdiction
Query and data exchange operations between participants, carried out within the scope of the VoP service, are subject to Portuguese law.
18. Dispute resolution
18.1. For any dispute, namely regarding the validity, interpretation, and application of these Terms and Conditions, as well as for the resolution of any conflicts, a voluntary Arbitral Tribunal competent under applicable law shall be constituted.
18.2. The Tribunal shall sit in Lisbon, and its object shall be defined in the arbitration agreement, unless restricted, which shall be for the arbitrators to decide at the request of any party, and the decision shall be rendered according to equity and without appeal.
18.3. Nothing limits the right of the Bank of Portugal, at its sole discretion, to initiate any actions in any national or foreign jurisdiction.
19. Professional secrecy
Participants must fully, scrupulously, and timely comply with the rules regarding the duty of professional secrecy applicable to them, namely, for participants established in Portugal, those provided for in the General Regime of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, approved by Decree-Law No. 298/92 of 31 December, namely by ensuring that they do not reveal or use for purposes other than those provided for in these Terms and Conditions the facts or elements of their relationships with clients of which they become aware through the provision of the VoP service.
20. Data protection
20.1. Participants must guarantee full, scrupulous, and timely compliance with applicable data protection legislation, namely Regulation (EU) No 679/2016 of 27 April, on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation – GDPR).

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
20.2. Any requests for information or clarifications related to the exercise of rights regarding personal data protection within the functionalities provided for in the VoP service must be directed to the Bank of Portugal, via email: vop@bportugal.pt.
20.3. Any complaints related to the exercise of rights regarding personal data protection within the functionalities provided for in the VoP service must be directed to the Data Protection Officer of the Bank of Portugal, via email: encarregado.protecao.dados@bportugal.pt.
20.4. The duty to inform data subjects about the processing and exercise of their rights is ensured by making information available on the Bank's institutional website.
VII. VALIDITY AND TERMINATION
21. Termination by the participant
21.1. Termination by the participant of these Terms and Conditions is conditional upon receipt by the Bank of Portugal of a request to that effect by the participant, with a minimum advance notice of 15 business days relative to the date planned for the cessation of the VoP service provision, except in exceptional cases where the Bank of Portugal authorizes a shorter notice.
21.2. Termination by the participant of these Terms and Conditions implies their exclusion from the SICOI subsystems for which adherence to the VoP service is a condition of participation.
22. Suspension or exclusion from service provision
22.1. The Bank of Portugal may suspend the provision of the VoP service without prior notice if any of the following situations occur:
a) Opening of insolvency proceedings against the participant; b) Revocation of the participant's authorization as a payment service provider under Directive (EU) 2015/2366 on payment services in the internal market.
22.2. Suspension consists of the temporary cessation of the rights and obligations of a participant during a period of time to be determined by the Bank of Portugal.
22.3. The Bank of Portugal may cease service provision to the participant, with 30 business days' prior notice, when the participant fails to comply with the duties set forth in these Terms and Conditions and in the Operating Manual for the Beneficiary Verification Service.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
22.4. Suspension or exclusion of a participant may also be determined if any occurrence related to them is verified, which, in the opinion of the Bank of Portugal, prejudices the performance of its duties, as described in its Organic Law, the General Regime of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies, and the Statutes of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank, or constitutes a risk of a prudential or systemic nature.
22.5. In exercising the discretionary power referred to in paragraph 22.4, the Bank of Portugal will take into account, among other aspects, the impact of the identified non-compliance situations on the stability and security of SICOI.
22.6. The Bank of Portugal is not liable for any losses incurred by participants as a result of their suspension or exclusion from the VoP service.
22.7. Exclusion from the VoP service implies exclusion from the SICOI subsystems for which adherence to the service is a condition of participation.
23. Entry into force
These Terms and Conditions take effect until the cessation of adherence to the VoP service provided by the Bank of Portugal.
VIII. PRICING AND BILLING
24. VoP Service Pricing
24.1. The pricing to be applied to participants in the VoP service is based on the recovery of costs incurred by the Bank of Portugal with the management and provision of the service.
24.2. The VoP service pricing corresponds to a monthly fee per BIC, with no transaction cost:
Pricing
Prices
(Euros)
Participant only as Originator PSP 150
Participant only as Beneficiary PSP 200
Participant as Originator and Beneficiary PSP 200
24.3. The monthly fee includes the processing of beneficiary verification requests sent and received by the participant that are carried out within the limit of requests per minute

Pricing
1.1. The pricing to be applied to participants in SICOI is based on the recovery of costs incurred by the Bank of Portugal with:
a) the management of SICOI, through the monthly participation fee per subsystem or subsystem branch; b) the settlement of operations in TARGET, through the monthly fee for maintaining the technical account of the instant transfer subsystem and the fees per operation.
1.2. The SICOI pricing is applied monthly to direct participants in the system, with the payment of the monthly invoice and any adjustment relating to the previous year, referred to in point 1.3 of this Annex, effected directly by the Bank of Portugal via debit to the account defined for this purpose (CNP in TARGET). Exceptionally, and if reasons justifying it are identified, the Bank of Portugal may agree on an alternative charging mechanism with the direct participant.
SICOI Pricing
Prices
(Euros)
Monthly participation fee per subsystem or subsystem branch (1)
per direct participation .............................................................................................. 60
per indirect participation .......................................................................................... 42
Monthly fee for maintaining the technical account of the instant transfer subsystem (2) Fee per operation per each clearing balance settled ....................................................................... 1.48 per each large-value operation settled ................................................................... 1.48 per each operation settled in the instant transfer subsystem ............... (3) (1) A direct participant in a given clearing subsystem or subsystem branch is charged for their own participation and for the participation of each of the indirect participants they represent in each subsystem or subsystem branch. (2) Monthly fee calculated according to the following formula:
3 000 euros
(number of direct and indirect participants in the instant transfer subsystem at the end of each month)

( nº operations * price band ) +
( nº operations * price band ) +
( nº operations * price band ) +
( nº operations * price band ) ]

nº operations
Where:

The "no. operations" refers to operations settled in the instant transfer subsystem by all participants;
Each band corresponds to the following:
Band From To Unit price
(in euros)
Band A 0 10 000 000 0.00040
Band B 10 000 001 25 000 000 0.00030
Band C 25 000 001 100 000 000 0.00020
Band D Above 100 000 001 0.00015
1.3. To ensure the recovery referred to in point 1.1, the Bank of Portugal will proceed with the adjustment relating to the previous year as soon as it has knowledge of the amount due to the Eurosystem, which will be based on the total number of clearing balances and large-value operations settled in TARGET in that year.
1.4. The pricing does not incorporate the costs of the processing entity and the costs of communications service providers.

Penalties for late settlement
2.1. In the clearing subsystems for cheques, commercial bills, cards, and credit transfers (1st closing of the Non-SEPA branch and 1st and 2nd closings of the SEPA branch), successive one-hour settlement periods are carried out, after which the following cumulative penalties will be applied to participants responsible for delays in settling clearing balances due to insufficient funds in the account:
I. Failure in the first settlement period: a penalty of 700 Euros will be applied;
II. Failure in the second settlement period: an additional penalty of 1,750 Euros will be applied;

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
III. Failure in the third settlement period: an additional penalty of 3,500 Euros will be applied;
IV. From the third settlement failure period: the additional penalty will be 7,000 Euros.
2.2. In the clearing subsystems for credit transfers (2nd closing of the Non-SEPA branch and 3rd closing of the SEPA branch) and SEPA direct debits (CORE and B2B branches), successive 30-minute settlement periods are carried out, after which the following cumulative penalties will be applied to participants responsible for delays in settling clearing balances due to insufficient funds in the account:
I. Failure in the first settlement period: a penalty of 1,050 Euros will be applied;
II. Failure in the second settlement period: an additional penalty of 2,625 Euros will be applied;
III. Failure in the third settlement period: an additional penalty of 5,250 Euros will be applied;
IV. From the third settlement failure period: the additional penalty will be 10,500 Euros.
2.3. In the clearing subsystems for credit transfers (4th closing of the SEPA branch), successive 45-minute settlement periods are carried out, after which the following cumulative penalties will be applied to participants responsible for delays in settling clearing balances due to insufficient funds in the account:
I. Failure in the first settlement period: a penalty of 1,050 Euros will be applied;
II. Failure in the second settlement period: an additional penalty of 2,625 Euros will be applied;
III. Failure in the third settlement period: an additional penalty of 5,250 Euros will be applied;
IV. From the third settlement failure period: the additional penalty will be 10,500 Euros.
2.4. In the clearing subsystem for credit transfers (5th closing of the SEPA I and II branches), a 15-minute settlement period will be carried out, after which a penalty of 2,625 Euros will be applied to participants responsible for delays in settling clearing balances due to insufficient funds in the account, with the Bank of Portugal reserving the right to, independently of applying the aforementioned penalty, effect settlement until the end of the TARGET day.

Annex to Instruction No. 11/2025 BO No. 9/2025 Supplement • 2025/09/17
Topics Payment Systems :: Clearing
...................................................................................................................................................................................
2.4.1. If settlement is not carried out until the end of the TARGET day, successive one-hour settlement periods will be carried out, from 7:30 am on the following TARGET day, after which the following cumulative penalties will be applied to participants responsible for delays in settling clearing balances due to insufficient funds in the account:
I. Failure in the first settlement period: a penalty of 2,625 Euros will be applied;
II. Failure in the second settlement period: an additional penalty of 5,250 Euros will be applied;
III. From the third settlement failure period: penalties of 10,500 Euros will be applied.
3. Penalties for non-compliance with the rules of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT for subsystems with deferred clearing and settlement
3.1. Penalty for non-compliance with the value reserve amount to be constituted
Non-compliance with the value reserve amount required by the Bank of Portugal, under paragraph 36 of this Regulation, implies the direct participant being subject to a penalty of 1% on the amount of the value reserve not provided, to be applied on each day of non-compliance.
3.2. Penalties for activation of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT
Activation of the SICOI guarantee fund account mechanism in TARGET-PT, under paragraph 32.2 of this Regulation, implies the direct participant being subject to a penalty of 700 Euros.
3.3. Penalties for non-reimbursement of the value reserve amount used
3.3.1. Failure to reimburse, under paragraph 37.4 of this Regulation, the cash used until the close of the TARGET day, implies the direct participant being subject to a penalty of 1% on the amount missing to ensure compliance with the value reserve required by the Bank of Portugal.
3.3.2. Failure to reimburse, under paragraph 38.4 of this Regulation, the liquidity granted supported by eligible assets, until the close of the TARGET day, implies the direct participant being subject to a penalty of 5% on the amount of liquidity used.

Instruction No. 11/2025 on the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI)

Lineage: In force