Guideline (EU) 2023/2415 of the European Central Bank of 7 September 2023 amending Guideline (EU) 2022/912 on a new-generation Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET) (ECB/2022/8) (ECB/2023/22)

The European Central Bank (ECB) has published new Guideline (EU) 2023/2415 to amend Guideline (EU) 2022/912 on a new-generation Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET) in the Official Journal (OJ) of the EU. Latter outlines the key tasks to be performed by TARGET and its key operating procedure, including the system’s governance, and describes the requirements and procedures for participating in the TARGET system.
The new guideline now revises the „old“ one to, among other things
– make changes to existing definitions, such as the replacement of „European Payments Council’s SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme“ and introduce the term „network service provider“ (NSP);
– require Eurosystem central banks (CBs) not to permit the use of trademarks connected with TARGET services without permission from the Level 2 technical and operational management body;
– delay the deadline for limiting account openings of eligible TARGET participants by CBs (currently, CBs within the Eurosystem are obligated, with a few specific exceptions, to ensure that, starting from November 20, 2023, only TARGET accounts can be opened for eligible participants who want to offer services covered by the 2022 guideline);
– expand these TARGET account restrictions for credit institutions to meet their minimum reserve requirements;
– specify the requirement for Eurosystem CBs to conclude contracts with network service providers (NSPs) and establish a second technical connection to TARGET for contingency purposes;
– require participants that are considered critical to establish a second technical connection via another technical service provider in addition to their primary technical connection to TARGET beginning 2026; and
– require ALL real-time gross settlement (RTGS) dedicated cash account holders and ancillary systems participating in TARGET to make use of the TARGET „Contingency Solution“ in case of issues concerning the operation of TARGET accounts.
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As the above summary only briefly summarizes the key changes to the 2022 guidelines, please review the legal document for more detailed, comprehensive information.