Norway completed its ISO 20022 migration for NBO gross payments in March 2025 and net payments in November 2025, aligning the country's settlement messaging standards with global norms. Separately, Norges Bank and the ECB signed an agreement in November 2024 for Norway to join TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS), with go-live targeted for the first half of 2028.
TIPS Integration
The TIPS agreement enables Norwegian instant payments to settle in central bank money via the pan-European platform. This means Norwegian kroner instant payments will settle on the same infrastructure used by euro instant payments across the eurozone - and alongside Danish krone payments following Denmark's TARGET migration.
T2 Negotiations
Norges Bank entered formal discussions with the ECB in February 2025 on migrating NBO's RTGS settlement to the T2 platform, joining the Non-Euro Currency Steering Group alongside the Riksbank and Danmarks Nationalbank. Implementation is expected to take approximately five years.
Mastercard/NICS Continuity
While the settlement layer modernises, Mastercard and Bits AS extended their partnership for NICS interbank clearing with a new five-year agreement, ensuring continuity of Norway's core clearing infrastructure during the transition.
What This Means
Norway is systematically migrating its entire payment infrastructure to pan-European platforms: ISO 20022 messaging (complete), instant payment settlement via TIPS (2028), and RTGS settlement via T2 (approximately 2030). Combined with Denmark's completed migration and Sweden's decision to negotiate, all three non-euro Nordic countries are converging on a shared European settlement infrastructure.
Sources: Norges Bank, Norges Bank