SIA the first network provider certified for instant payments of the ECB and Eurozone central banks

SIA is the first Network Service Provider to have acquired certification from the Eurosystem (ECB and national central banks in the Eurozone) to provide access to TIPS – TARGET Instant Payment Settlement – the new pan-European service for settlement in central bank money of instant payments, the launch of which is planned for November 2018.

The startup of the TIPS service will further support the integration and innovation of the market for retail payments in euros. At present, „SIAnet is the only network infrastructure to have passed all the Eurosystem tests regarding aspects of security, performance, reliability and governance”, the company says.

Consequently, European banks and other Payment Service Providers (PSPs) can participate, through the SIA network, in the pilot phase of the TIPS service. The infrastructure already handles instant payments at European level through the connection to EBA Clearing’s RT1 system, in operation as of 21 November 2017 and with over 1 million transactions carried out with a value of 635 million euro.

„SIA thus offers its services as the only access network to both pan-European instant payment platforms – RT1 and TIPS. Thanks to a solution totally managed by SIA which guarantees superfast connections through a new low-latency messaging technology, banks can focus on their core business, reducing the costs and operating impacts related to the management of complex infrastructures.”, according to the press release.

“The certification awarded by the Eurosystem testifies to the excellence of SIAnet, which meets all the requirements of reliability, speed and solidity necessary for instant payments. Furthermore, it confirms the important role of SIA as primary technology provider in the area of network services, also with a view to the creation of the Eurosystem Single Market Infrastructure Gateway in 2021. The ESMIG project will enable access by banks, via a single interface, to the market infrastructures managed by the Eurosystem, strengthening the cybersecurity and resilience of strategically important systems”, commented Nicola Cordone, Deputy CEO of SIA.

With the launch of instant payments at the tail end of last year, citizens and businesses in 34 countries in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) can send and receive cash up to a limit of 15,000 euro in a single transaction in less than 10 seconds through a service active 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, in line with the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (credit transfer with immediate and irrevocable credit) scheme of the European Payments Council (EPC).