The Board of the SEP Payment Institution has become operational.

This collective management body is authorized to make strategic decisions  regarding organizational, technological and financial conditions for the set-up, functioning and development of the SEP.

The activities of the Board of the SEP Payment Institution are regulated by the Regulation on the Board of the SEP Payment Institution approved by NBU Board Decision No. 60-D of 31 January 2017.

The Chairman of the Board is NBU Deputy Governor of the NB responsible for payment system operations and cashless payments regulation). Acting Governor of the NBU Yakiv Smolii currently chairs the Board.

Establishing a separate body to enable the NBU perform the function of the SEP Payment Institution was  one of the recommendations  as to bringing its activities into line with the requirements of Principle 2   Governance of the payment institution Principles for financial market infrastructures   ^[1]  based on the results of the comprehensive assessment of the SEP carried out by the NBU in 2015.

This principle  requires to set out objectives of the payment system that should have documented governance arrangements that provide clear and direct lines of responsibility and accountability.

Also,  it was recommended that the regulator develop the SEP rules to bring the SEP’s operation into compliance with  Principle 2  .

Therefore, the Board of the SEP Payment Institution considered and approved the Rules of this payment system among other issues on the agenda   .

The SEP rules cover key issues related to the conditions for the participation in the SEP, procedures governing the accession to the system and the exit of participants from it , settlement procedures  and  risk management in the SEP. These rules comprise a package of regulations and technical documentation on the SEP operation.

These rules are binding for all the SEP participants.

[1] adopted by the Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems of the Bank for International Settlements and the Technical Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commission.