ANNEX6 COOPERATION ON PAYMENT, CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT SYSTEMS PREAMBLE The High Contracting Parties: RECALLING the provisions of Chapter Five of the Protocol which requires co-operation on payment, clearing and settlement systems; RECOGNISING that payment systems are critical to the financial infrastructure and the circulation of money, and are integral to economic activity; RECOGNISING that Central Banks must co-operate through policy coordination, capacity building and system development which in turn will contribute towards payment system reform, facilitation of cross-border payments, and support for monetary policy obje tives; HEREBY AGREE as follows: ARTICLE 1 DEFINITIONS 1. In this Annex, terms and expressions defined in Article 1 of the Protocol shall bear the same meaning unless the context otherwise requires. 2. In this Annex, unless the context otherwise requires: "clearing system" means, a set of procedures whereby financial institutions present and exchange data and/or documents relating to the transfer of funds or securities to other financial institutions at a single location (clearing house), and such procedures may include a mechanism for the calculation of participants' bilateral and/or multilateral net positions with a view to facilitating the settlement of their respective obligations on a net or net-net basis (BIS Red Book); "currency convertibility" means, the ability of residents of that State Party and non-residents to exchange the currency of that State Party for foreign currency and to utilise the foreign currency in transactions. A measure of currency convertibility of a State Party is the absence of restrictions on: 63