Quick answer

SAMOS operates on every South African business day with a structured set of windows: an opening session, intraday RTGS processing throughout the day, scheduled batch windows for retail clearing house outputs, a STRATE securities settlement window, and an end-of-day close-out. Times are published by SARB and updated periodically.

The shape of a SAMOS day

SAMOS is not a 24/7 platform in the same sense as a retail instant-payment scheme. It runs on a structured schedule designed to balance liquidity for participants, batch processing windows for clearing houses, and end-of-day reconciliation for SARB. The platform opens in the early morning and closes after end-of-day cut-offs late in the afternoon, with weekend availability limited to specific use cases.

Typical daily windows

  • Opening session. The system opens, banks confirm their settlement positions, and any overnight liquidity arrangements are unwound.
  • RTGS processing. Real-time gross settlement runs continuously throughout the operating day.
  • Retail PCH batch settlements. Net positions from BankservAfrica's clearing houses (EFT, DebiCheck, RTC, PayShap) settle at scheduled windows.
  • STRATE settlement window. Securities settlement flows process at the agreed DvP window.
  • End-of-day cut-off. The customer cut-off precedes the interbank cut-off; after both, SAMOS closes for the day and final balances are struck.

Intraday liquidity tools

SARB provides intraday liquidity to participants via collateralised arrangements, ensuring that short-term mismatches between outgoing and incoming flows do not stall the queue. Repurchase agreements and the settlement collateral pool are the main mechanisms; details are published in SARB's NPS guidance.

Weekends and public holidays

SAMOS does not run a full settlement service on weekends and South African public holidays. Selected windows are available for PayShap settlement and for certain end-of-day reconciliation tasks, because retail instant payments must continue while banks are closed. The detailed weekend schedule is published in SARB's annual NPS operating calendar.

Where to check current times

Operating hours are reviewed periodically and adjusted under the PEM Programme. Always confirm current cut-offs and settlement windows against SARB's published schedule rather than relying on third-party summaries — including this one. The official source is the National Payment System Department of SARB.

TL;DR

  • SAMOS runs on a structured business-day schedule with RTGS, batch, and securities windows.
  • Customer cut-offs precede interbank cut-offs late in the day.
  • Weekend and holiday availability is limited but supports PayShap settlement.
  • Always confirm current windows against SARB's published calendar.

Frequently asked questions

What time does SAMOS open and close?

SAMOS operates on a SARB-published business-day schedule with an early-morning open and an afternoon close-out. Exact times are reviewed periodically.

Does SAMOS settle on weekends?

Limited weekend windows support PayShap settlement and certain reconciliation tasks; full settlement service runs on business days.

What is the daily customer cut-off?

The customer cut-off is the deadline after which SAMOS no longer accepts customer-initiated payments for same-day settlement. It precedes the interbank cut-off.

Where can I confirm the official schedule?

The South African Reserve Bank's National Payment System Department publishes the operating calendar.

See also from our Comparison silo: SADC-RTGS vs SAMOS: Regional vs Domestic Settlement and Real-Time Clearing (RTC) in South Africa Explained. For the foundations, return to the SAMOS homepage or browse the full Knowledge Hub.