Instruction No. 9/2026: Amendment to the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI) Regulation

Instruction No. 9/2026
Official Gazette No. 10/2026 • 15-10-2026
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Topics
Payment Systems:: Clearing
Mod. 99999940/T – 01/14
Index
Text of the Instruction
Text of the Instruction
Subject: Amendment to the Interbank Clearing System (SICOI) Regulation On March 19, 2024, Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of March 13, 2024, was published, amending Regulations (EU) No. 260/2012 and (EU) 2021/1230 and Directives 98/26/EC (SFD) and (EU) 2015/2366 (PSD2) with regard to instant credit transfers in euros (IPR). Among the changes carried out by the IPR is that related to the opening of designated payment systems to access by non-bank payment service providers, specifically, payment institutions and electronic money institutions. On December 19, 2025, Law No. 68/2025 was published, ensuring the execution of the IPR, with regard to instant credit transfers in euros, having amended Decree-Law No. 221/2000, of September 9, which transposes into the national legal order, only with regard to payment systems, the SFD. It also amends the Legal Framework for Payment Services and Electronic Money (RJSPME), approved by Decree-Law No. 91/2018, of November 12. Decree-Law No. 221/2000 was amended so that the concept of institution, for the purposes of applying the regime, now includes payment institutions and electronic money institutions, in line with the provisions of the SFD. The RJSPME was also amended to ensure the transposition of the amendments to PSD2, establishing i) the conditions that payment institutions and electronic money institutions must meet to request participation in designated payment systems; and ii) the method for assessing such compliance. It is therefore necessary to reflect these changes in the SICOI Regulation. The opportunity is also taken to introduce other minor changes to the Regulation. Thus, under the competence attributed to it by Article 14 of its Organic Law, by Article 92 of the General Regime of Credit Institutions and Financial Companies (RGICSF) and by Law No. 68/2025, a legislative diploma for the execution of Regulation (EU) 2024/886 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of March 13, 2024, the Banco de Portugal amends the articles of Instruction No. 11/2025 – SICOI Regulation –, determining the following:

Instruction No. 9/2026 Official Gazette No. 10/2026 • 15-10-2026 Topics Payment Systems:: Clearing
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Mod. 99999940/T – 01/14

1. Number 5. of Instruction No. 11/2025, shall have the following wording:
   «5. Participants in the clearing and settlement subsystems
   5.1. The following are eligible for participation in SICOI subsystems:
   a) Credit institutions established in the Union or the EEA, even when operating through a branch established in the Union or the EEA; b) Credit institutions established outside the EEA, provided they operate through a branch established in the Union or the EEA; c) Payment institutions within the meaning of Article 13 of the Legal Framework for Payment Services and Electronic Money, approved by Decree-Law No. 91/2018, of November 12 (RJSPME), established in the Union or the EEA, even when operating through a branch established in the Union or the EEA, with the exception of natural or legal persons benefiting from an exemption under Articles 22 and 37 of that diploma; d) Electronic money institutions within the meaning of Article 14 of the RJSPME, established in the Union or the EEA, even when operating through a branch established in the Union or the EEA, with the exception of natural or legal persons benefiting from an exemption under Article 51 of that diploma; e) Postal giro institutions authorized to provide payment services; f) Treasury Departments of central or regional governments of Member States; and g) Public sector entities of Member States when not acting as monetary authorities or in the exercise of public authority powers.
   5.2. The Banco de Portugal may also consider other entities eligible for participation in SICOI subsystems.
   5.3. Except in exceptional cases, mutual agricultural credit banks that are part of SICAM (Integrated Mutual Agricultural Credit System), which process their operations through the Central Mutual Agricultural Credit Bank, are not considered participants in SICOI subsystems.
   5.4. The Banco de Portugal will reject an application for participation if:
   a) The applicant is not an eligible entity, within the meaning of number 5.1., nor an entity that may be admitted by the Banco de Portugal, under the terms of number 5.2.; b) One or more of the participation requirements referred to in numbers 8. to 11. have not been met; and/or

Instruction No. 9/2026 Official Gazette No. 10/2026 • 15-10-2026 Topics Payment Systems:: Clearing
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Mod. 99999940/T – 01/14 c) In the opinion of the Banco de Portugal, such participation may compromise the general stability, solidity and security of SICOI, prejudice the performance of the attributions of the Banco de Portugal as described in Article 14 of the Organic Law of the Banco de Portugal, approved by Law No. 5/98, of January 31, and in the Statutes of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank, or constitute a prudential risk.»
2. Numbers 8.5. and 8.6. are added to number 8. of Instruction No. 11/2025, with the following wording:
«8.5. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions that request participation in the deferred clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI must comply with the requirements stipulated in Article 68-A of the RJSPME.
8.6. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions must continuously satisfy the requirements stipulated in Article 68-A of the RJSPME and must immediately communicate to the Banco de Portugal any relevant changes to the fulfillment of these requirements.»
3. Numbers 9.3. and 9.4. are added to number 9. of Instruction No. 11/2025, with the following wording:
«9.3. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions that request participation in the real-time clearing and settlement subsystems of SICOI must comply with the requirements stipulated in Article 68-A of the RJSPME.
9.4. Payment institutions and electronic money institutions must continuously satisfy the requirements stipulated in Article 68-A of the RJSPME and must immediately communicate to the Banco de Portugal any relevant changes to the fulfillment of these requirements.»
4. Numbers 12.2. and 12.3. are added to number 12. of Instruction No. 11/2025, and the following are renumbered, with the following wording:
«12.2. For the purposes of verifying the provisions of numbers 8.5. and 9.3., payment institutions and electronic money institutions that request participation in any SICOI subsystem must submit a self-assessment of compliance with the requirements contained in Article 68-A of the RJSPME, accompanied by the elements they deem relevant to prove such compliance.
12.3. Within three months from the receipt of the self-assessment or, if it is incomplete, from the receipt of all information necessary for decision-making, but never later than 12 months from the date of initial submission of the request, the Banco de Portugal will inform the applicant of its decision.»
5. Numbers 12.8. and 12.9. are added to number 12. of Instruction No. 11/2025, with the following wording:

Instruction No. 9/2026 Official Gazette No. 10/2026 • 15-10-2026 Topics Payment Systems:: Clearing
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Mod. 99999940/T – 01/14
«12.8. Applicants must address their communications to the Banco de Portugal via email: sicoi@bportugal.pt, or by post addressed to:
Directorate of the Payment Systems Department of the Banco de Portugal Av. Álvaro Pais, 2 | 1600-007 Lisbon
12.9. All requests and provision of information must be written in Portuguese or English language.»
6. Number 6.2. of Annex X – “Terms and Conditions of the Beneficiary Verification service” of Instruction No. 11/2025, shall have the following wording:
«6.2. The Banco de Portugal will carry out the verification procedures on behalf of the Adherent Beneficiary, using the verification algorithm developed for this purpose. After this procedure, it will share the result with the Payer's PSP and, when applicable, with the Beneficiary's PSP, as detailed in the Operating Manual of the Beneficiary Verification Service.»
7. This Instruction enters into force on the day following its publication.