Amendments to TARGET Guideline postponed

15 May 2025

The amendment to the TARGET Guideline, which would allow non-bank payment service providers (non-bank PSPs) to participate in TARGET is postponed. This decision is a result of delays in some euro area countries in transposing the required amendments to the Settlement Finality Directive (SFD) and Payment Services Directive (PSD2) into their national legislation. These amendments are essential to include non-bank PSPs in the range of entities eligible to participate in designated payment systems such as TARGET.

The amendment to the TARGET Guideline, outlined in Decision ECB/2025/2, is now expected to enter into force in October 2025. The Eurosystem considers this postponement necessary to avoid legal risks concerning the eligibility of non-bank PSPs to access TARGET, including T2 (for settling payments) and TIPS (for settling instant retail payments).

The postponement of the amendment to the TARGET Guideline does not prevent national central banks (NCBs) from providing access to national payment systems, other than TARGET, operated by central banks in countries where the amendments to the SFD and PSD2 have been transposed into national legislation.

For more information, non-bank PSPs should contact their respective NCB.