A first in Europe: instant cross-currency payments between euro, Swedish krona and Danish krone launched on TIPS
Published:
Author: SEPA.tr — Editorial
Event date: 8–10 June 2026 · Confidence level: A (official ECB announcement)
The European Central Bank (ECB), Danmarks Nationalbank and Sveriges Riksbank have officially activated the instant cross-currency payment service on the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform.
What happened?
- The corridors were established on 8 June 2026; the ECB announcement was published on 10 June 2026.
- Participating payment service providers can now settle payments between TIPS accounts in euro (EUR), Danish krone (DKK) and Swedish krona (SEK) instantly, in central bank money, with conversion included in a single step — no separate FX transaction is needed.
- The Norwegian krone (NOK) is planned to join as the fourth TIPS currency in the first half of 2028 and to be included in the cross-currency service (a plan, not yet a live service).
What does it mean?
- This directly concerns the non-euro countries within SEPA (Sweden, Denmark): in these corridors the main cost item is not the transfer fee but the exchange rate margin. Instant conversion at the infrastructure level lays the groundwork for more transparency on this cost over time.
- Important limit: the service being live does not mean every bank offers it to customers as a product. The fee and rate a customer sees depend on the bank’s own pricing.
- Nothing changes directly for Türkiye; however, TIPS’s interlinking strategy with other instant payment systems provides conceptual ground for possible future discussions about systems like TCMB’s FAST — there is no announced Türkiye link today.
Related content
Currency conversion in SEPA · Clearing, settlement and TARGET · Local currency to EUR cost tool