ECB opens TARGET to one-leg-out instant payments and reprices RTGS accounts
TIPS account holders cannot accept one-leg-out instant payments until they sign the EPC adherence agreement and notify the ECB
Change
On 7 July 2026 the European Central Bank (ECB) adopted Decision (EU) 2026/1754, amending Decision (EU) 2022/911 to admit European Payments Council One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCTs Inst) traffic into TARGET Instant Payment Settlement from 14 November 2026, to add rule-based liquidity transfers triggered by floor and ceiling breaches, and to replace the RTGS dedicated cash account tariff from 1 July 2026.
Why it matters
Access to the new scheme is conditional, not automatic: a TIPS account holder may accept OCTs Inst orders only after signing the One-Leg Out adherence agreement and informing the ECB, and must evidence the same adherence for every reachable party it designates. Where a designated reachable party ceases to adhere, the holder must act without undue delay to cut off that party's access to the account. Rule-based liquidity transfers reach across account holders — a floor breach can debit a main cash account belonging to a different participant, which only operates where that account holder has authorised the debit in advance. The tariff replacement is a forced election between a EUR 400 monthly fee at EUR 0.80 per payment order and a EUR 5,000 monthly fee on a seven-band cumulative volume scale, with billing-group volumes aggregated. Every accepted instant payment order or positive recall answer carries EUR 0.001 charged to both the debited and the credited account, whether or not it settles.
Implications
- — RTGS dedicated cash account holders must elect one of the two tariff structures effective 1 July 2026 — the flat EUR 400 plus EUR 0.80 per order, or EUR 5,000 plus the banded volume scale — and reconcile billing-group aggregation, since the previous pricing option ceased to apply on 30 June 2026.
- — TIPS dedicated cash account holders and TIPS ancillary-system technical account holders that intend to accept OCTs Inst traffic must sign the One-Leg Out adherence agreement, notify the ECB before exercising the option, and hold evidence of adherence for each designated reachable party — without that evidence the option cannot be exercised.
- — Main cash account holders must decide whether to authorise their accounts to be debited by rule-based liquidity transfers, including debits triggered by floor breaches on accounts held by other participants in TARGET-ECB or another component system; absent that authorisation the transfer will not execute when the floor breaks.
Who is affected
- — RTGS dedicated cash account holders
- — TIPS dedicated cash account holders
- — TIPS ancillary-system technical account holders
- — Main cash account holders
What to watch
- — Effective: 14 November 2026 — OCTs Inst sending and receipt, the amended TIPS directory fields and the revised adherence-evidence requirements begin to apply.