Univ.-Prof. Dr. Gerhard Merk, Dipl.rer.pol., Dipl.rer.oec.A central securities depository (CSD) operates the infrastructure used to register, safeguard, and transfer securities. It maintains authoritative records of investors' holdings and supports the completion of trades without routinely moving paper certificates. Depending on the market, the underlying instruments may be stored as immobilised documents or represented entirely by electronic entries. A CSD may… read more »
A cash settlement agent is the bank or other institution through which the monetary side of a payment or securities transaction is completed. It settles amounts owed between system participants, often by making or receiving the relevant account entries, while a separate party may handle trade matching, clearing, custody, or transaction records. Banks and central… read more »
A book-entry transaction is one carried out solely through records maintained in financial accounts. For investments, the relevant institution updates the holder's securities position instead of exchanging paper certificates. In payment services, it may also mean posting an amount to or from a customer's account based on an ongoing authorization, such as for receiving distributions… read more »
Batch processing refers to submitting multiple payment or securities-transfer instructions as one operational set, allowing the relevant system to manage them under a common processing arrangement rather than individually.
A book-entry system maintains investors' ownership interests in digital account records rather than issuing paper certificates. When an interest changes hands, the relevant accounts are updated electronically to reflect the new holder, eliminating the need to create or hand over a physical instrument.