Ms Nataliia Syniavska, Director of the General Department for Information Technologies and Payment Systems, has said that statistical data on the operation of the System of Electronic  Payments (hereinafter, the SEP) suggest that "during 2013 the SEP as the state system of interbank settlements operated efficiently, addressed the needs of its participants for funds transfers, while ensuring that the payment processing requirements were fully met in terms of maximum speed, transparency, high level of security and reliability".

As of 1 January 2014, 423 institutions were the SEP participants, including:

• 180  Ukrainian banks;
• 178  Ukrainian banks' branches;
• 28    bodies of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine;
• 37    institutions of the National Bank of Ukraine.

In 2013, the SEP participants effected 347.61 million initial payments and sent the electronic settlement notices totaling UAH 12.69 trillion, being more by 4% in quantity and by 8% in value, than in the previous year.

The number of initial payments and electronic settlement notices sent to the SEP by Ukrainian banks and their branches amounted to 323.69 million documents,  accounting for the largest share (93%) of the total number of transactions made through the SEP.

Ms Nataliia Syniavska has said that, given their needs, the SEP participants may decide at their discretion whether to operate with the separate correspondent account or consolidated correspondent account.

The third model for servicing the consolidated correspondent account appeared in great demand among the SEP participants. Under this model, a legal entity has a consolidated correspondent account and the intrabank interbranch payment system, which ensures the execution of a funds transfer between the bank branches and the interaction with the SEP in order to carry out an inter-bank funds transfer between the bank branches.

In 2013, the SEP participants operating with this model effected and sent 161.43 million initial payments and electronic settlement notices, which accounted for 46% of the total number of transactions processed through the SEP.

In 2013, on average, 1.39 million initial payments and electronic settlement notices worth UAH 50.54 billion were processed per day.

The daily average balance of funds on the SEP participants' accounts totaled UAH 27.82 billion, while the daily average money turnover on the SEP participants' accounts stood at 1.81," said Ms Nataliia Syniavska.

She has stressed that in 2013 the smooth and reliable operation of the SEP enabled the SEP participants to carry out the fast and smooth settlement of their transactions within Ukraine, while ensuring security of electronic payments and a high level of protection for payment and other information transmitted through the system.