The Eurosystem plans to enhance its efforts in connecting TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) with international fast-payment networks, a project that has been under scrutiny since the late 2024 period. This move is designed to streamline cross-border financial transactions, particularly remittances, by establishing direct connections with existing high-speed payment systems.

Progress in Cross-Border Instant Payment Networks

The Eurosystem’s initiative now focuses on linking TIPS with India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This project has advanced to the implementation stage, where technical preparations and related legal frameworks will be developed concurrently. UPI, managed by the Reserve Bank of India through the National Payments Corporation of India, handles a significant volume of real-time transactions globally. The Indian remittance market from Europe makes this corridor crucial for the Eurosystem’s plans.

Simultaneously, the ECB is considering whether TIPS could integrate with Nexus Global Payments, a model run by Nexus Global Payments Ltd and intended to connect multiple Asian fast-payment systems operated by central banks in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and India. While the necessary legal and operational arrangements are still being defined, these details will influence any future decision.

In September 2025, the Governing Council began evaluating whether TIPS could interoperate with the Swiss Interbank Clearing Instant Payments system, broadening the scope beyond solely Asian regions.

Representatives from the ECB state that expanding TIPS connections aligns with the Eurosystem’s retail payments strategy and supports the G20 initiative to improve cross-border payment speed, cost, and transparency. The broader goal is to eventually extend such interoperability across more currency routes.