payments

Payment and Settlement Systems Department

The task of the Payment and Settlement Systems Department is to administer payment and settlement systems and to develop and oversee the payments market. The goal is to promote a payments market in Estonia that is efficient, safe, and supportive of innovation. The Head of the Payment and Settlement Systems Department is Rainer Olt. The work of the department is divided into four main areas.

The Settlement Division works with other Eurosystem central banks to provide TARGET2 services to the market that cover:

  • Central Liquidity Management (CLM) for managing liquidity and transactions with the central bank;
  • Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) for settling payments in real time;
  • T2-Securities (T2S) for securities settlements; and
  • TARGET Instant Payment Service (TIPS) for settling instant payments.

The division also helps develop new TARGET services. A Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS) is being created, and it will be ready in November 2023. The division also provides settlement services to the contractual clients of Eesti Pank and fulfils the support function for monetary policy transactions, the investments of Eesti Pank itself, and collateral management. The Head of the Settlement Division is Viire Oll.

The Payments Policy Division is responsible for analysing the payment market and helping promote development of it. The division participates in designing the policies and regulations of payment and settlement systems at the national and EU levels. The Head of Division is Teet Puusepp.

The Payment and Settlement Systems Department is responsible for oversight of key financial sector infrastructures and for assessing the continuity of the payments market. The oversight analyses the construction and functioning of payment and settlement systems, identifies risks to the systems, recommends ways to minimise risks, and monitors compliance with those recommendations. The assessment of the continuity of the payments market analyses the risks to the market and the measures taken to ensure the continuity of vital payment services including card payment services, and makes proposals for more efficient organisation of the sending and receipt of payments. Eesti Pank works with Finantsinspektsioon in its oversight work. Oversight is managed by Kaire Torsus.

The Payment and Settlement Systems Department it is also responsible for the development, risk management and quality assurance of the settlement systems managed by Eesti Pank. The department works closely in matters of development with market participants, other European central banks and clearing houses.