Large-Value Payment System (TARGET2)

TARGET2 is the new pan European payment system that replaced the TARGET system. The new system was developed to cater for the needs of EU enlargement and technological advances, as well as to meet market participants' demand for safe and effective payment systems and harmonised payment services across Europe. Three Eurosystem central banks – the Banca d’Italia, the Banque de France and the Deutsche Bundesbank – jointly provide the single technical infrastructure, the Single Shared Platform (SSP) of TARGET2, which replaced the decentralised structure of the original TARGET system. Through TARGET2, the Eurosystem provides payment services at a single price structure for both domestic and cross-border payments according to the principle of cost recovery.

TARGET2 offers a wide range of services responding to the needs of all users, including the European banking sector, national central banks and the European Central Bank. Its single platform promotes uniform banking operations, which in turn contribute to the smooth and efficient processing of payments. Moreover, TARGET2 provides advanced liquidity management tools and harmonised procedures for the settlement of ancillary systems, i.e. clearing and securities settlement systems. TARGET2 also offers maximum reliability and advanced business continuity mechanisms.
 
The migration to TARGET2 took place in successive steps, i.e. in "country groups", with the first one migrating on 19 November 2007, when the system was launched. The second group migrated on 18 February 2008 and the last one (including Greece) on 19 May 2008.

TARGET2 has proved very successful. In 2009, payments settled through the system reached, on a daily average basis, the level of 5.692 in terms of volume and €29,15 billion in terms of value and in 2010, on a daily average basis, the level of 5.904 in terms of volume and €27,83 billion in terms of value. The system’s availability has been very high and TARGET2 has performed satisfactorily even on peak days.

Ongoing cooperation between the ESCB and the banking community in the form of extensive consultations, which facilitated the smooth migration to TARGET2, ensures the constant improvement of the system and the expansion of the range of services it offers. The first release of TARGET2, which supports the new functions, was launched in November 2008. Another two releases became operative during 2009, and one in November 2010.


TARGET
The TARGET (Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross settlement Express Transfer) system was launched in 1999, comprising the national real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems of the EU Member States that participated in EMU, the ECB payment mechanism and an interlinking mechanism. In TARGET, as well in TARGET2, the RTGS systems of the EU countries that had not adopted the euro as their national currency could have also been connected. In this context, Greece participated to TARGET as from the start of its operation via the payment system HERMES.