What is TIPS?

As a pan-European instant payment settlement system, TIPS facilitates the reachability of payees and is helping to accelerate the uptake of instant payments across Europe.

In line with harmonisation and standardisation, TIPS is compliant with the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) scheme provided by the European Payments Council and with the Nordic Payments Council’s Instant Credit Transfer (NCT Inst) scheme.

 Brochure – Instant Payments: TIPS for getting there

TIPS offers final and irrevocable settlement of instant payments in euro, Swedish krona and Danish krone. Settlement in TIPS takes place in real time and in central bank money, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Eligible PSPs and automated clearing houses (ACHs) can open a TIPS account with their national central bank. TIPS facilitates instant payment settlement through a streamlined and secure process, supported by a technical solution designed for high-speed, scalable and continuous 24/7/365 availability.

For more details, see the technical description, as well as the TIPS privacy statement on how personal data are processed by TIPS in accordance with EU data protection rules.

Participation criteria: TIPS is subject to the same participation rules as T2.

There are two ways to access the platform:

1) Participants own a TIPS account (a dedicated cash account (DCA) for instant payment settlement).

2) Reachable parties can access a participant’s TIPS account by entering into a contractual agreement with the participant.

To exchange messages with TIPS, PSPs can either handle the process themselves or delegate it to an “instructing party” of their choice.

TIPS operates on a full-cost-recovery, not-for-profit basis. There are no entry/onboarding fees. 

The instant payment transaction fee is fixed at 0.2 euro cent (€0.002), shared equally between the sending participant and the receiving participant (i.e., €0.001 for the originator and €0.001 for the beneficiary).

In addition, PSPs and ACHs are charged monthly account-holder fees.

Update on TIPS pricing (April 2023)
MIP News: New pricing structure for TIPS (4 July 2023)

TARGET Services pricing guide