“The extension of access rights to TARGET is intended to increase the efficiency of the European retail payments market, foster competition and innovation in European payments, offer more choice to consumers, and support the development of instant payments in the European Union. At the same time, non-bank participants in the system will have to meet strict conditions so that their participation does not pose a risk to financial stability,” says Evaldas Ruzgys, Director of the Market Infrastructure Department at Lietuvos bankas.
According to him, the possibility to connect to TARGET may be particularly relevant for payment service providers that process large volumes of transactions and participate in cross-system settlements, or seek strategic control over their settlement models.
When participating in TARGET, payment service providers may:
- reach more than 39,000 system participants directly when making payments;
- settle in central bank money, thereby reducing credit and settlement risk;
- manage liquidity independently from commercial banks or third-party infrastructure;
- use the same infrastructure with banks, which is essential for efficiency, transparency and operational resilience;
- directly access Eurosystem settlement solutions, including the TIPS platform for instant payments.
