Real-time gross settlement and the costs of immediacy

Using a neoclassical monetary model, we investigate the welfare cost of a payment system that operates as a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system. We illustrate how the cost of such systems ultimately derives from the credit constraints imposed by RTGS. The effects of these constraints can be undone if the central bank makes intraday credit freely available. If intraday credit is only available on a collateralized basis, however, RTGS will always impose a liquidity cost. (C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.