ECB’s Cipollone urges T+1 preparations for October 2027 and outlines Pontes upgrades

In a keynote address at the EU T+1 Industry Committee’s “One year to T+1” event, European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Piero Cipollone urged market participants to intensify implementation and testing before Europe’s transition on Oct. 11, 2027. The move will shorten securities settlement from two days after trading to one. Beyond reducing market and counterparty risk, the tighter timetable requires greater standardization and automation to address inefficiencies in securities processing. TARGET2-Securities (T2S), the Eurosystem’s platform for securities settlement in central bank money, already handles substantial transaction volumes on T+1 and T+0 cycles. Changes to its nighttime settlement process are planned for June 2027 to support the transition. Cipollone emphasized that T2S will continue operating alongside emerging tokenized platforms. Existing and new infrastructure need to work together without creating new technological silos. Building on Pontes’ launch on Sept. 21, 2026, the Eurosystem plans to extend its operating hours significantly by mid-2027 and provide 24/7/365 availability in 2028. Pontes connects market platforms using distributed ledger technology (DLT) with TARGET Services, enabling wholesale transactions in tokenized assets to settle in central bank money. Immediate settlement finality on the Eurosystem DLT platform is also planned as early as 2027. The longer-term Appia initiative aims to deliver a blueprint by 2028 for an integrated European tokenized finance ecosystem built around common standards and central bank money.