Xryma Plc Goes Live on ECB T2 Network for Instant Cross-Border Euro Payments

Xryma Plc has gone live on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) T2 Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) network, enabling near-instant cross-border euro payments. For fintech professionals, this marks a significant milestone as a non-bank payment service provider gains direct access to high-value settlement infrastructure, bypassing the delays and compliance friction inherent in traditional correspondent banking networks.

What was announced

Xryma is now actively transacting on the T2 RTGS network under its own Business Identifier Code (BIC), ISEMCY22XXX. This connectivity allows the group to offer near-instant euro transfers to customers of its ISX Money service, with flykk® customers expected to gain access shortly. T2 serves as the Eurosystem’s primary system for large-value payment settlement, operated by the ECB to ensure secure settlement in central bank money.

The transition to T2 represents a fundamental shift away from the legacy SWIFT-based correspondent banking model. While traditional international transfers often take three to five business days and require passage through multiple intermediary banks, T2 settles transactions in near real-time. Data from the ECB’s TARGET Services Annual Report 2023 indicates that 90% of transactions on the network were settled within 38 seconds. Furthermore, the ECB’s 2024 report confirmed that 99.73% of T2 payments were processed in less than two minutes.

Xryma’s implementation utilizes a "banktech" architecture that load balances traffic via two central banks—the Bank of Lithuania and the Bank of Latvia. This dual-pathway approach is designed to optimize volume flow and enhance resilience. By eliminating the multi-bank "hop" required by SWIFT, the group can settle most euro transactions within 40 seconds on any business day. Additionally, the group has upgraded its SEPA instant services to the Target Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) platform, which is intended to extend into cross-border and multi-currency services in the near future.

"Going commercially live on the ECB's T2 RTGS network marks another significant milestone in Xryma's evolution as a banktech group. ECB T2 network connectivity through our own BIC strengthens our payments infrastructure, enhances our ability to deliver faster and more efficient cross-border euro payments, and reinforces our commitment to providing institutional-grade banking solutions to our customers. The benefits to our customers are tangible and immediate. Just as SEPA Instant transformed domestic payments within the EEA, the forthcoming 24/7 T2 RTGS network will do the same for international euro transfers. Xryma Plc can now offer our customers high-value, low-friction cross-border payments at a speed that simply was not possible before."

Nikogiannis (John) Karantzis, Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Xryma Plc.

The companies involved

Xryma Plc is a regulated European banktech group that operates at the intersection of software development and digital payment services. The company is notable for being among the first non-bank participants authorized for direct connection to the Eurosystem’s T2 RTGS and TIPS platforms. Xryma holds Electronic Money Institution (EMI) authorizations in both the United Kingdom and the European Union, allowing it to provide multi-currency corporate accounts to a global merchant and institutional base.

The group’s operations are supported by its subsidiary, Probanx®, which develops the underlying banking technology and software used by the group and third-party financial institutions. Xryma also operates PaidBy®, an open-banking service that facilitates cross-border account-to-account payments with dynamic currency conversion for merchants, offering next-business-day settlement in major and exotic currencies. The European Central Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt, serves as the central bank for the twenty member states of the European Union that use the euro. It manages the TARGET Services infrastructure, which includes the T2 RTGS system used for high-value settlements between central and commercial banks.

What FF News has reported before

The European Central Bank has been active in modernizing its payment and settlement infrastructure over the last year. FF News recently covered how the ECB and Brazil Explore TIPS-Pix Link: A New Era for Cross-Border Instant Payments, a move aimed at bridging regional instant payment systems. In the realm of digital assets, the Eurosystem Launches Pontes to Settle Tokenised Assets in Central Bank Money, reflecting a broader push toward central bank money settlement for emerging financial technologies. Additionally, the bank has sought wider industry engagement, as seen when the ECB Invites E-commerce Merchants to Join Digital Euro Pilot Program to test the viability of a retail digital currency.

What this means

This announcement moves the needle by demonstrating that direct access to central bank settlement is no longer the exclusive domain of traditional Tier-1 banks. By bypassing the correspondent banking "hop" model, Xryma is placing direct pressure on legacy institutions that rely on the fees and liquidity float generated by slower SWIFT transfers. The industry is now facing a pivotal question: as more non-bank PSPs gain direct RTGS access, will the correspondent banking model survive in its current form? This shift suggests that speed and transparency are becoming the baseline requirements for corporate cross-border payments, rather than premium features, forcing a re-evaluation of the entire global payment rail hierarchy.