The ASX will finally begin replacing the CHESS system. In 2026. Three decades after it launched.
After several delays and a failed experiment with blockchain, the ASX says it has a plan to finally replace its CHESS system. Should investors believe it?
When the ASX announced back in 2015 it would replace its old trading system, no one at the local exchange could have guessed what lay in store. Back then, it was thought the 1990s-era CHESS system would be on the scrap heap by 2020 with its successor firing on all cylinders.
Now, half a dozen delays and three years after the process was meant to be wrapped up, the ASX has just kicked off its latest attempt to modernise its backend tech platform.
On Monday, the exchange revealed it was entrusting Indian technology provider Tata Consultancy Services with the unenviable task of designing its new clearing and settlement system.
“It will allow us to deliver a reliable, supportable and scalable platform that meets the current and future needs of the market,” ASX managing director Helen Lofthouse told an analyst call on Monday.
