Traffic, performance and main developments in TARGET2/T2 in 2023

7 June 2024

The ECB has published its 24th TARGET Annual Report, covering traffic, performance and main developments in TARGET2/T2 in 2023. The total volume of payments grew by 1.8% in 2023, with an average of 409,444 transactions settled per day and an average daily turnover of €2.2 trillion. The daily volume of payments reached a peak on 11 April, with 659,146 transactions processed. TARGET2/T2 maintained its leading position in Europe and remained one of the largest payment systems worldwide.

In March 2023 TARGET2 was replaced by T2, which comprises a new real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system and a central liquidity management tool across all TARGET Services (T2, T2S and TIPS). T2 settles payments related to the Eurosystem’s monetary policy operations, as well as interbank and commercial transactions. The migration of all participants to the new system between 17 and 20 March 2023 went smoothly, with 100% system availability and performance as expected.

Among other things, the changeover to T2 extended the time window for settlement. Participants can now start settling customer and interbank payments from 02:30 CET, compared with 07:00 CET in TARGET2. This supports cross-border payments in particular and has reduced the concentration of payments at the start of the day, relieving the burden on the infrastructure and lowering operational risk. It is also in line with the objectives of the G20 cross-border payments programme for improving the speed of cross-border payments and reducing liquidity costs and settlement risks.

Other topics highlighted in the 2023 TARGET Annual Report relate to system participation (including tiered participation arrangements), financial performance, management and oversight activities. It also covers system, participant and volume developments in TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS).