As of April 22, 2025, Danish financial institutions can now settle wholesale and retail payments in Danish krone through the Eurosystem’s T2 and TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) services. This marks a significant milestone as Danmarks Nationalbank becomes the first central bank outside the euro area to fully integrate its currency across all three TARGET Services.
The integration follows a successful migration process and builds on Denmark’s earlier participation in TARGET2-Securities since 2018. With this latest development, the Danish krone joins the euro and the Swedish krona as one of the currencies supported by TIPS, which now handles instant payment settlements in three currencies.
Danmarks Nationalbank applied for participation in 2020, and the final agreement was signed in 2024. Testing campaigns and migration rehearsals began in September 2023 to ensure technical and operational readiness across Danish market participants.
The first activation of T2’s multi-currency capability
The inclusion of the Danish krone also marks the first activation of T2’s multi-currency capability, enabling centralized liquidity management and uniform technical standards across borders. These enhancements improve security, efficiency, and harmonization for real-time settlement services in both wholesale and retail contexts.
“This achievement is the result of years of collaboration with the Eurosystem,” said Danmarks Nationalbank. “It strengthens our financial infrastructure and ensures our markets are integrated with those of the euro area through shared technology and standards.”
The addition of non-euro currencies in TARGET Services is viewed as a step toward broader European financial integration. Sweden, which added its currency to TIPS in 2024, has shown interest in expanding participation to other TARGET Services. Other non-euro countries, including Norway and Iceland, have also expressed interest in joining with their own national currencies.
Discussions are ongoing between Danmarks Nationalbank, Sveriges Riksbank, and the European Central Bank regarding the implementation of cross-currency settlement capabilities in TIPS, which would facilitate efficient and secure exchanges between participating currencies.
TARGET Services, developed and operated by the Eurosystem, offer real-time, central bank money-based infrastructure for both high-value and instant payments. T2 processes transactions valued near the GDP of the entire euro area every six days. TIPS supports 24/7 retail payment settlement throughout the year and reaches more than 40,000 banks globally, including their branches and subsidiaries.