Real-time settlement is the immediate, final transfer of value between parties at the moment of transaction, eliminating the delay and counterparty risk of deferred net settlement cycles. In payments and securities it collapses the gap between trade and final exchange of funds. Distributed ledgers and central bank digital currencies enable atomic, near-instant settlement around the clock.
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- Traditional systems batch and net obligations, settling hours or days later (T+1/T+2). Real-time gross settlement and tokenised assets on distributed ledgers allow atomic delivery-versus-payment with finality. Benefits include reduced systemic risk and freed-up collateral, while challenges include liquidity management for continuous gross settlement and 24/7 operational resilience.