What is T2?

T2 is the real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system owned and operated by the Eurosystem. Central banks and commercial banks can submit payment orders in euro to T2, where they are processed and settled in central bank money, i.e. money held in an account with a central bank.

T2 settles payments related to the Eurosystem’s monetary policy operations, as well as bank-to-bank and commercial transactions.

Every five days, T2 processes a value close to the entire euro area GDP, which makes it one of the largest payment systems in the world. More than 1,000 banks use T2 to initiate transactions in euro, either on their own behalf or on behalf of their customers. Taking into account branches and subsidiaries, more than 43,000 banks worldwide and all their customers can be reached via T2.

T2 offers enhanced and modernised services to the market. The ISO 20022 messaging standard is used, as is also the case for T2S and TIPS. The RTGS system is able to facilitate payments in several currencies, if the respective central bank decides to do so.

The TARGET Services share several features to improve liquidity management across them and make payments more cost-effective and efficient.

TARGET Services shared features

Objectives of T2

• Support the implementation of the Eurosystem’s monetary policy and the functioning of the euro money market
• Minimise systemic risk in the payments market, i.e. the possibility of a single actor causing an entire market to collapse
• Ensure the efficient processing of payments in euro

By meeting these objectives, T2 enables payments to flow safely and efficiently across Europe, and contributes to the stability of the euro.

How does T2 work?

Payment orders are submitted to the platform for processing and are settled one by one on a continuous basis in central bank money, with immediate finality. There is no upper or lower limit for their value. T2 is used by central banks and commercial banks for monetary policy transactions, interbank payments and commercial payments.

The availability and cost of liquidity are two crucial issues for the smooth processing of payments in RTGS systems. T2 has a range of features allowing efficient liquidity management, including payment priorities, timed transactions, liquidity reservation facilities, limits, liquidity pooling and optimisation procedures. It also shares several features with the other TARGET Services to improve liquidity management across them.

T2 is open for the processing of payments every working day. The system is closed on the following days:

• 1 January (New Year's Day)
• Good Friday
• Easter Monday
• 1 May (Labour Day) 
• 25 December (Christmas Day)
• 26 December

Participation

T2 is used to carry out monetary policy operations in the euro area. The central banks of EU Member States which have not yet adopted the euro also have the option to participate in T2 and settle transactions in euro via the platform. Its multi-currency feature allows settlement in other currencies should the respective central bank decide to do so.

Other financial institutions can connect to T2 via a participating central bank. They can choose from several different access options:

• Direct participant: a financial institution established in the European Economic Area (EEA) that holds an RTGS account in central bank money in T2, sends and receives payments on its own behalf or on behalf of its customers
• Multi-addressee access: branches and subsidiaries of a direct participant in the EEA that are authorised to channel payments through the account of the direct participant
• Addressable BIC: a correspondent of a direct participant that holds a Bank Identifier Code (BIC), irrespective of its place of establishment

The T2 privacy statement sets out how T2 processes personal data in accordance with EU data protection rules. 

Pricing

The RTGS system is subject to two pricing schemes: the RTGS core pricing scheme, which applies to payment banks and central banks with regard to the processing of payment orders and liquidity transfers, and the ancillary system pricing scheme, which applies to ancillary systems settling.

Under each of the two pricing schemes, participants can choose between a lower fixed monthly fee plus a fixed transaction fee; or a higher fixed monthly fee plus a volume-based transaction fee (i.e. a fee that gradually reduces as the number of transactions increases).

The TARGET Services pricing guide provides users with a comprehensive overview of the pricing schemes and a detailed guide to the billing principles that apply to the various types of transactions, as well as to the entities to be invoiced.

TARGET and TARGET2: the predecessors of T2

In response to changing market demands, the Eurosystem launched a review of its RTGS services in December 2017. The objective was to consolidate the technical and functional aspects of the predecessor to T2, TARGET2, and T2S, with the aim of improving efficiency and reducing operating costs.

TARGET2 remained in operation until March 2023 when T2 was launched.

TARGET2 was running smoothly for over a decade, ensuring safety and efficiency in European payments. However, payments changed significantly during this period due to technological developments, new regulatory requirements and changing consumer demands.

TARGET2 replaced the first-generation RTGS system for the euro. TARGET commenced operations on 4 January 1999, a few days after the launch of the euro. The single currency needed a payment service to support monetary policy operations and to settle euro payments across national borders in the EU.

TARGET was built by linking together the different RTGS structures that already existed at national level as there was not sufficient time to develop a single system. However, this decentralised structure proved inefficient and costly in the long term. The Banque de France, Deutsche Bundesbank and Banca d'Italia were given the tasks of developing the new platform and acting as a service provider on behalf of the Eurosystem. TARGET2 was launched on 19 November 2007 and fully replaced the first-generation TARGET by May 2008.

TARGET Annual Reports TARGET2 facts and figures