actsleading tohonourordishonour isoftendivided between thedata processing centre andthebranches. Inordertocreate homogeneous batches withthenecessary characteristics. instructions may becollected andtransported tothe dataprocessing facility periodically. insomecasesonlyattheendof theday.Fundstransfer instructions whicharetobeexecuted on afixed daymay besentinadvance oftheentrydatetoanautomatic tt clearing-house ortransferee bankforadvance processing. Thereisno longer afixedrelationship between thepointoftimewhen aspecific fundstransfer instruction isreceived bythebank.whenthecrucial decisions areexplicitly orimplicitly madetohonourit.whenthe entries intheaccount records aremade and when thefundstransfer becomes effective. Rulesonfinality whichwerebaseduponthatfixed relationship becomedifficult toapplyinpractice. Batch--processing isdesigned fortheinexpensive processing oflarge volumes oftransactions ratherthanfortheirexpeditious processing. Fundstransfers whichareintended tobeexecuted on aparticular day may beprocessed inadvance bythetransferor bank.automatic clearing-house ortransferee bank.sometimes manydayspriortotheeffective date.A fundstransfer instruction received duringthedayforcurrent actionmay beprocessed thatnight. Onlyonthefollowing daywouldthebanking officials responsible forthecustomer accounts seetheprint-outs showing therecordoftransactions and new account balances. Ruleson completion whichanticipate allstepsbeingtakenonthedayofreceipt may.therefore. bedifficult toapplywithbatch-processing. 4It 3.On-line dataprocessing 34.Theintroduction ofon-line dataprocessing restores someaspects ofthe previous routines whereby instructions wereprocessed individually. Whena bankprocesses fundtransfers on-line. itscomputer verifies theauthenticity oftheinstruction andthestatusoftheaffected accounts andconcurrently entersdebits andcredits. whether provisional ornot.As aresultofon-line dataprocessing: Theon··line entryofdebits andcredits toaccounts frommultiple branches. aswellasfromoff-premise locations. freestheruleson finality (andoftime-limits) fromtheprevious constraints linkedtothe physical location oftheaccount record. Individual fundstransfers areprocessed withinthebankandthe entries aremade as individual itemswithout waiting forthecreation of batches withappropriate characteristics orforthephysical-r• •A/CN.9/266/Add.l English Page11 transportation oftheinstructions tothedataprocessing centre. The account records indicate pp.r~nlanently theorderinwhichtheon-line transactions tookplace.including theexacttimeifthatisdesired. 35.Where an on-line dataprocessing systemprovides fortheentryofthe debits andcredits directly intotherelevant accounts. thefactual situation inrespect oftherulesonfinality wouldseemtobethesame asifthe entries hadbeenmadeinthetraditional fashion onpaperaccount records. i.e.thedetermination astowhether thefundstransfer wasfinalforany purpose woulddependonwhether undertherelevant rulethefundstransfer was finalonentryofthedebitorcredit. oratadifferent time. 36.Inothercaseson-line dataprocessing systems enterdebits andcredits intoprovisional accounts. Theseaccounts maysubsequently beconsolidated withtheregular accounts wheninter-bank settlement hasbeencompleted orat anyothertimedeemedappropriate bythebank.Inthemeantime. thecomputer canbeprogrammed toshowtheprovisional account ratherthantheregular account incaseofenquiry aboutaccount balance oraccount activity. sothat theexistence ofprovisional accounts maynotbereadily apparent eventomany employees ofthebank.However. untilthedebits andcredits areconsolidated intotheregular accounts. thefundstransfer maynotbefinalunderrules whicharebasedonthetimeofentry. 31.Amixture ofon-line andbatch-processed entries makesitdifficult to establish priorities between different fundstransfers onthebasisofthe timeofentryofthedebitsorcredits. Itmay befurther notedthatfunds transfer instructions whichareprocessed on-line bytheoriginating bankmay
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the processing of financial transactions, specifically fund transfers, and the impact of different processing methods (batch-processing and on-line processing) on the finality of these transactions. The text highlights the challenges of applying rules on finality and time-limits in a batch-processing system, and how on-line processing restores some aspects of the previous routines. The language used is technical and focused on financial transactions, suggesting that the text is related to the financial industry.

**Category**
Industry, Transport and communication