Mastercard has participated in a Eurosystem-led pilot testing instant cross-currency payments on the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement platform.
Mastercard has announced its participation in an Eurosystem-led pilot on the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform, conducted in collaboration with Danmarks Nationalbank and Sveriges Riksbank. The pilot tested instant cross-currency payment settlement between euros and Danish kroner, with both currency legs completed simultaneously - a model referred to as atomic settlement - designed to reduce settlement risk in cross-border transactions.
Mastercard Move, the company's global money movement platform, was among the first participants to process transactions using the cross-currency pilot functionality, performing both entry-leg and exit-leg payment service provider roles under the One Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) scheme.
Settlement model and infrastructure implications
The pilot demonstrates a model in which cross-border payments are executed and settled in central bank money in real time, without requiring banks or fintechs to independently build and manage direct connectivity to central bank infrastructure. For financial institutions, the approach reduces integration complexity, improves liquidity management, lowers funding risk, and delivers more predictable and transparent payment outcomes.
The pilot also validates that regulated non-bank payment service providers can operate at the infrastructure level within ECB governance frameworks, European Payments Council scheme rules, and ISO 20022 standards. This is relevant to broader public sector efforts to modernise cross-border payment infrastructure in line with the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, which has identified speed, cost, transparency, and access as the primary targets for improvement.
Atomic settlement - in which both legs of a currency conversion are completed simultaneously rather than sequentially - addresses a longstanding source of risk in cross-border payments. In conventional correspondent banking flows, the two legs of a cross-currency transaction may settle at different times, creating a window of exposure for one or both counterparties.
Strategic context for Mastercard Move
The TIPS pilot forms part of Mastercard Move's broader strategy, building direct connectivity to payment infrastructures rather than routing entirely through correspondent banking networks. The platform currently supports transfers across more than 200 countries and territories in over 150 currencies, connecting to bank accounts, digital wallets, cards, and cash endpoints. Mastercard has previously extended Mastercard Move's infrastructure connectivity through participation in Buna, the Arab regional payment system, announced in November 2024.
No details on a timeline for commercial deployment of the cross-currency capability or the corridors to be prioritised for expansion have been disclosed.
