Admission

The Instant Payments Regulation (IPR), i.e. Regulation (EU) 2024/886, entered into force on 8 April 2024. Consequently, for credit institutions in the Eurozone, the deadline for being able to receive instant payments is 9 January 2025 (nine months after the entry into force of the IPR).

Joining Window 3 for RT1 is scheduled to go live on 10 December 2024 (see also the other applicable milestones for Window 3 below). In light of the above-mentioned IPR deadline, a Window 3 contingency go-live has been scheduled for 9 January 2025. This date will allow new joiners that would not be ready to go live on 10 December 2024 to still go live in time for the 9 January 2025 IPR deadline.

Because of the annual year-end freeze period, there will be no possibility for joining institutions to go live between 10 December 2024 and 9 January 2025. We strongly encourage joining institutions to follow the regular Window 3 schedule, if possible.

Kindly consult this webpage and our dedicated user communication channels for any further updates.  

Please note that the RT1 Joining Windows for 2025 will be made available on the present webpage as soon as possible.

Joining Windows

If you would like to join RT1, please contact us via this form. We will guide you through the joining process.

Joining and Testing Windows 2024

Event Window 1 Window 2 Window 3
Registration deadline 22 January 2024 22 April 2024 23 September 2024
Start Connectivity Tests 05 February 2024 06 May 2024 07 October 2024
Start Free Tests 12 February 2024 13 May 2024 14 October 2024
Start Scripted Tests 26 February 2024 27 May 2024 28 October 2024
Controlled Go-Live (RT1 only) 04 April 2024 04 July 2024 05 December 2024
Live Date 09 April 2024 09 July 2024 10 December 2024
Latest EPC Readiness 02 April 2024 01 July 2024 02 December 2024

Joining and Testing Windows 2025

Event Window 1 Window 2 Window 3
Registration deadline 20 January 2025 21 April 2025 22 September 2025
Start Connectivity Tests 03 February 2025 05 May 2025 06 October 2025
Start Free Tests 10 February 2025 12 May 2025 13 October 2025
Start Scripted Tests 24 February 2025 26 May 2025 28 October 2025
EPC Readiness date (latest) 31 March 2025 02 June 2025 01 December 2025
Controlled Go-Live 03 April 2025 03 July 2025 04 December 2025
Full Live Date 08 April 2025 08 July 2025 09 December 2025
Event Window 1 Window 2 Window 3
EPC Readiness date (latest) 09 May 2025 08 August 2025 01 December 2025
Contingency Controlled Go-Live 29 May 2025 11 September 2025 12 February 2026
Contingency Full Live 08 June 2025 16 September 2025 17 February 2026

Change dates

Change dates for the RT1 System are set by the below conditions:

  • one change date per week (Tuesday)
  • legal and administrative documents to meet a change date is that of two weeks prior to the given date.
  • It shall not fall during the frozen period between the second week of December and the second week of January.

Admission criteria

In order to fulfil the criteria for admission to and continued participation in the RT1 System, a participant must:

  • be authorised to act as a credit institution
  • have TARGET/TIPS access:
    • have a direct participant status in TARGET and hold and have access to a TIPS dedicated cash account (DCA), or (b) have a liquidity provider that has the status of a direct participant in TARGET and holds and has access to a TIPS DCA
  • be able to comply with the technical and operational requirements of the RT1 System, including requirements aiming at ensuring availability of the RT1 Participant during the operational times of the system
  • have its registered office in a Member State of the EU, the EEA or the OECD, or a country or territory which is part of SEPA
  • participate in the system via its registered office or a branch located in the geographical area of SEPA
  • provide a capacity opinion with respect to its participation in the RT1 System
  • adhere to the SCT Inst Scheme Rulebook of the European Payments Council

Exclusion, Suspension and Withdrawal from the RT1 System

The occurrence of a suspension or exclusion event and the consequences thereof for the suspended / excluded participant and for the other participants are determined solely in accordance with the RT1 Rules. The systems’ rules are proprietary and confidential, and are available to all participants, to prospective participants that have applied for becoming a participant, and to relevant authorities including in particular the European Central Bank / Eurosystem as overseer of RT1.

Operational defaults will be addressed in first instance through the activation of incident handling and, as applicable, crisis management arrangements.

A participant can be prevented by the System Operator from continuing to participate in the system if certain events occur.

Exclusion

Events that may give rise to exclusion comprise in particular:

  • termination of access to TARGET2/TIPS
  • loss of license to act as a credit institution
  • insolvency or comparable situations (unless an exclusion or suspension would contravene legislation implementing the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive (BRRD) or equivalent third country legislation)
  • a suspension event that has not been remedied within 30 calendar days

Suspension

The criteria for participation in the RT1 System consist of necessary legal, technical and operational requirements to enable the processing of SCT Inst transactions, as well as funding and withdrawal of funds operations in TIPS.

A participant may be suspended if non-compliance with the ongoing criteria for participation cannot be otherwise mitigated, e.g. in the case of relocation outside SEPA.

Withdrawal

A participant can withdraw from the RT1 System by giving written notice of termination at least five TARGET2 business days prior to the withdrawal.

Pricing

For information on the RT1 pricing, please click here.