By now you’ve likely heard the news regarding the closure of the LTO settlements room, effective from 5pm today (Friday 20 March 2020).
We had anticipated that this closure was a possibility, meaning that we have worked very hard with all other parties involved to get as many of the existing paper settlements onto the electronic settlements platform, PEXA, as quickly as possible. This is applicable for settlements from Monday 23 March 2020 onwards. Fortunately we have been successful with this conversion for the bulk of our upcoming settlements. For those where we are still waiting on other parties to confirm they are happy to settle on PEXA, or where settlement on PEXA is not possible and needs to be by paper, we are working on alternative solutions urgently to make sure they still settle as planned.
In the rare instances that a settlement cannot occur via PEXA, the LTO settlements room closure doesn’t mean that paper settlements can’t still occur. There are options of settling in a Bank’s office or even at the LTO foyer (where there is a clear title and cash settlement). We are across all of this for all of our settlements and are currently navigating any such situations.
As always, we are remaining solution focussed and doing everything possible to get the settlements through on time for our clients and referrers.
Please know that in this ever-changing, challenging environment, we are very much business as usual, and that our team are well resourced and have the skills to deliver a high quality service at all times.
We have invested significantly in our technology infrastructure and systems to support continuity of service, including if the need arises for all staff to work with clients and referrers via videoconferencing and remote access facilities.
If you have any concerns at all in regards to the shutdown of the LTO settlements room please don’t hesitate to contact me on 0429 859 539 or brad@eckermanngroup.com.
As we would normally do, if there are any issues with settlement delays, we will keep you fully informed.
