Large value payment system TARGET2

It is a priority for the Eurosystem to ensure that payment systems and other market infrastructures function smoothly and effectively, to maintain financial stability in the euro area.  This makes TARGET2 a key building block of financial integration in the EU.  This is because it enables the free flow of money across borders and supports the implementation of the ECB’s single monetary policy.

• TARGET2 offers the highest possible level of reliability and resilience as well as advanced business continuity mechanisms.
• It integrates high-performance instruments for liquidity management and harmonised procedures for the settlement operations of ancillary systems, i.e. clearing and securities settlement systems.
• TARGET2 supplies harmonised services through the use of a single interface.  
• With TARGET2, the Eurosystem offers a single price structure applicable to both intra-national and cross-border payments, and achieves a high level of cost recovery. Furthermore, it offers a broad range of services to meet the requirements of all users, including the European banking sector, national central banks and the European Central Bank. 

Every National Central Bank manages its own component of TARGET2. TARGET2-GR is the Greek component of TARGET2 that is managed by the Bank of Greece.  TARGET2-GR is a “system”, as defined in Law 2789/2000, as currently in force.

The central banks of the EU and the commercial banks of the Member States. More than 1,700 banks use TARGET2 to initiate transactions in euro, either for their own account or on behalf of their customers. Taking into account branches and subsidiaries, more than 55,000 banks worldwide (and all their customers) can be reached via TARGET2.

The operational framework of TARGET2-GR is described in detail in the Operating Regulations that entered into force on 22.6.2015 pursuant to Monetary Policy Council Act (MPCA) no. 97/15.6.2015, as currently in force after its amendments.

Migration to TARGET2 took place in successive steps, i.e. in three “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 third one (including Greece) on 19 May 2008.  

The operation of TARGET2 has proved very successful. The system recorded high levels of availability and performed well even on peak days.  

Ongoing cooperation between the European System of Central Banks and the banking community through extensive consultations facilitated the smooth migration to TARGET2 and ensures the constant improvement of the system and the introduction of new functionalities. TARGET2 is regularly updated and enhanced in what are known as “releases”, the first release of which, supporting the new functions, was launched in November 2007. Since then, eleven more releases have been launched, the latest of which (12.0) in November 2018.

TARGET system was launched in 1999 and comprised the national real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems of EU Member States participating in the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the ECB payment mechanism and an interlinking mechanism.

Payment systems of EU countries which had not adopted the euro had the opportunity to connect to TARGET, as is the case today with TARGET2.  In this context, Greece participated in TARGET since its launch via the HERMES payment system.