SWIFT, a payment messaging firm based in Belgium, began implementing its SWIFTNet Instant service for the Eurosystem’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service on Friday (November 30), when the first banks using it went live, according to a report by the company. The service allows customers to make instant payments from anywhere inside the Single Euro Payments Area.
SWIFT said its connectivity to TIPS is a step to the future, and a pivotal building block for access to the future Eurosystem Single Market Infrastructure Gateway.
The instant payments gateway can be used as a stand-alone service, or it can be used with SWIFT’s Alliance Messaging Hub, a service that enables the processing of financial message and integration flows with back office standards and specifications.
Alain Raes, A SWIFT chief executive, said the move is part of a bigger journey toward a singular goal.
“We are delighted to confirm the successful go-live of our connectivity solution for instant payments on TIPS. This marks another milestone in our long standing partnership with the Eurosystem and we are proud to be supporting the first customers making instant payments on TIPS,” Raes said. “Our solution is designed to meet the current and future messaging needs of our customers and we look forward to working with them as they embark on the path towards the Eurosystem Single Market Infrastructure Gateway.”
The next big step for the Eurosystem Single Market Infrastructure Gateway will be the technical consolidation of TARGET2 and Target2-Securities in 2021, the company said. SWIFT is working to adapt those systems and processes into a single European gateway, an endeavor that the company described as one of the most crucial tasks facing European financial institutions in the coming years. SWIFT said the implementation of SWIFTNet will ensure customers will be using a future-proof solution while they migrate to the Eurosystem Single Market Infrastructure Gateway.
Marc Boyle, a director at the European Central Bank, said the live launch is an important moment for the financial future of Europe.
“The go-live of TIPS today is a further landmark in the Eurosystem’s creation of a truly domestic market for payments and securities settlement in Europe,” he said. “We are pleased that SWIFT supports the integration of the European payments market as one of the network service providers of TIPS.”
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