The clearing and settlement system operated under the Clearing House of the Central Bank of Liberia(CBL) commenced in 2001. During the initial part of this period, the clearing and settlement of checks were done manually.
In the Bank's effort to improve the check payment system and thereby encourage greater public use, the CBL on November 10, 2001 instituted a “twice daily” computerized clearing and settlement system.
In 2003, the system was linked to the Bankmaster package through a batch gateway currently in use by the CBL. Under the new system, banks experiencing shortfalls are required to settle their shortfalls before the commencement of clearing the next day. Settlement of shortfalls is done by debit to the current accounts of the bank(s) experiencing the shortfall or by cash settlement whenever the amount is not available in the account of such bank(s).
One major advantage of the automated clearing process is that it expedites the payment and settlement system by shortening the length of time for the clearing of checks as compared to the manual clearing system, which takes about three working days to clear checks.
Presently, the Bank operates a “one daily” clearing and settlement scheme based on a recommendation from the Commercial Banks in a Bankers Consultative Meeting held in June 2004.