Domestic
PAYMENTS SIGNAL · REFERENCE CARDWholesale CBDC interbank settlement (illustrative)
An illustrative interbank payment where the banks settle in tokenized central-bank money on a central-bank platform. Central-bank money moves as a token between the banks; the customer legs are booked in commercial bank money on each side.
Actors
- Originator (paying customer)customer
- Bank Alfa (sending bank)bank
- Central Bank CBDC platforminfrastructure
- Northstar Bank (receiving bank)bank
- Beneficiary (paid customer)customer
Messages
- Payment instruction
- Confirmation
The sequence
| # | Step | Route | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Payment instruction — The originator instructs Bank Alfa | Originator → Bank Alfa | message |
| 2 | Validate & screen — Bank Alfa validates and screens the instruction | Bank Alfa | internal |
| 3 | DR originator — Bank Alfa debits the originator | Bank Alfa | posting |
| 4 | Wholesale CBDC transfer — Central-bank money moves as a token on the platform | Bank Alfa → Northstar | settlement |
| 5 | Record finality — The platform records the transfer as final | CBDC platform | internal |
| 6 | CR beneficiary — Northstar credits the beneficiary | Northstar | posting |
| 7 | Confirmation — Confirmation returns to the originator | Northstar → Originator | message |
Exception rails
| Rail | Trigger | Where the money ends up | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform rejects the token transfer | The Central Bank platform rejects the wholesale-CBDC transfer on a validation or token check before it settles. | The originator is made whole — any customer debit is reversed or was never released, because the interbank leg never settled. · No wholesale-CBDC transfer settled; no central-bank money moved between the banks. | Bank Alfa — Bank Alfa corrects the rejected details and resubmits, or informs the originator why the payment could not proceed. |