Cross-border retail payments (MASSE)

General information

General information The MASSE payment system was established in the wake of the indemnification payments made by the Federal Republic of Germany in the 1960s.

The Deutsche Bundesbank executes cross-border payments in euro and foreign currencies for public cash offices and private institutions which are endowed with a public mandate. In this context its main area of activity is the settlement of regularly recurring payments (eg pension payments, statutory pension and accident insurance payments, supplementary pension payments and accident insurance pension payments, indemnification payments, support payments and child benefit payments). However, as a matter of principle, the Deutsche Bundesbank may also be called on to make one-off payments (eg tax refunds) to any given foreign country.

In order to settle these payments the Bundesbank makes use of its access to a network of correspondent banking relationships with foreign commercial banks and central banks. Depending on the originator’s instructions, the payment is forwarded either in euro or a foreign currency. At present, most payments of this kind are destined for beneficiaries in Croatia, Israel and Serbia. However, the aim is to extend this correspondent banking network to cover the settlement and transmission of such payments to locations in the Middle East and eastern Europe.

How payments are settled

Currently, around 300,000 payments are settled each month using the MASSE system. Since the Bundesbank’s connection to STEP2 these payments have mainly consisted of remittances to countries outside the European Union/European Economic Area (EEA) and payments which do not comply with the Pricing Regulation.

On a specified submission date the originator submits the payment data to the Bundesbank electronically via ExtraNet or using a magnetic tape cassette and sends a separate accompanying order bearing a legally binding signature. Settlement of the payment orders contained in the file is effected on a pre-determined date. The data are transmitted via SWIFT, ExtraNet, magnetic tape cassette or by letter after consultation with the respective correspondent bank. This institution then passes the payment on to the beneficiary either by crediting the transfer amount directly to the beneficiary’s account, forwarding the amount to the beneficiary’s bank with the request that they credit it to the relevant account or by issuing and sending a cheque.

In the event of overpayments, the originator may demand the return of any wrongly awarded payments. These may be due to the loss/revocation of the basis for a pension, the death of the beneficiary or changes in the beneficiary’s data. The reclaim instruction sent by the originator to the Bundesbank is forwarded to the correspondent bank.

Through its settlement of regularly recurring cross-border retail payments which are not covered by the Pricing Regulation, the MASSE payment system serves to complement and enhance the range of services offered by the Bundesbank in its capacity as the Government’s fiscal agent.

Contact

Please note that enquiries about MASSE addressed to the Bundesbank by e-mail will only be answered if the full address and telephone number of the party inquiring are supplied.

Postal address

• Deutsche Bundesbank
• Z 231-3
• Postfach 100602
• 60006 Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Phone, Fax and E-mail

• +49 69 9566 3488
• +49 69 9566 503276
• pensions@bundesbank.de