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Modulr glossary

CHAPS (Clearing House Automated Payment System)

Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS) is a UK GBP real-time payment scheme, running on top of the Bank of England RTGS system, operating 6am to 6pm on working days, which is typically used to settle high-value payments, both retail and wholesale. CHAPS is commonly employed in real estate, corporate finance and interbank transfers due to its ability to settle transactions securely and efficiently. Modulr accounts are connected to CHAPS to enable receipt and payment of same-day high-value transactions. Whether customers are sending or receiving a high-value payment, it’s essential to make sure the money arrives in one transaction.

Applications

E-commerce:

Reduces fraud in online card payments by verifying the cardholder's identity

Banking and fintech:

Helps issuers and payment providers comply with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) requirements.

Advantages

  • Enhanced security: Reduces unauthorised transactions by verifying that the genuine account holder is authorising the payment
  • Fraud prevention: Helps reduce chargebacks related to fraud.

Challenges

  • User Experience: Additional authentication steps can cause friction and increase checkout abandonment
  • Implementation complexity: Requires integration with card schemes and issuer systems.

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