How TIPS Is Becoming the Nordic Settlement Platform: Multi-Currency Instant Payments from Stockholm to Reykjavik

When the ECB published the TARGET Services Annual Report for 2024 in early 2025, one number stood out: TIPS processed 1.35 billion instant payment transactions in 2024, up 402% from 270 million in 2023. The value settled reached EUR 324 billion, an 87% increase. And 99.99% of those payments executed within five seconds.

But the real story is not the euro volumes. It is that TIPS is transforming from a eurozone utility into a multi-currency Nordic settlement platform - and the implications for the region's payment architecture are significant.

Sweden: The First Mover

Sweden became the first non-euro country to settle instant payments on TIPS when the Swedish krona went live on 19 February 2024. The result exceeded expectations: Swedish krona transactions accounted for more than half of total TIPS volume in 2024.

This is remarkable. A single Nordic currency, in its first year on the platform, generated more instant payment volume than the entire eurozone had produced through TIPS the previous year. It reflects both Sweden's mature instant payment habits (built through Swish and BiR) and the Riksbank's strategic decision to use TIPS rather than building a standalone domestic instant settlement engine.

For Sweden, TIPS replaced the need for a separate domestic instant payment clearing and settlement mechanism. Swedish banks route instant payments through BiR (Bankgirot's real-time system) or RT1 for clearing, with final settlement occurring on TIPS in central bank kronor.

Denmark: The April 2025 Entry

Danmarks Nationalbank signed a Currency Participation Agreement (CPA) with the Eurosystem in March 2024 and brought the Danish krone onto T2 and TIPS in April 2025. The DKK became the third currency on TIPS, after the euro and SEK.

Denmark's situation differs from Sweden's. As a country that pegs the krone to the euro through ERM II, Denmark already had deep operational connections to the Eurosystem. The DKK had been available in T2S (securities settlement) since 2018. Adding the krone to TIPS extends this integration to retail instant payments.

This means Danish instant payments can now settle in central bank money on the same platform as Swedish and euro-denominated ones - a precondition for the cross-currency service that follows.

Norway: Signed for 2028

Norges Bank signed a Currency Participation Agreement in November 2024. The Norwegian krone is expected to migrate to TIPS during the first half of 2028.

Norway's timeline is later than its Nordic neighbours, reflecting the complexity of migrating from its current settlement arrangements. Norges Bank currently operates NBO (Norges Bank's Settlement System) and has been examining how TIPS integration fits with its broader modernisation programme. The November 2025 completion of Norway's ISO 20022 migration for NBO settlement was a prerequisite.

When the NOK goes live on TIPS, all three Scandinavian currencies will settle instant payments on the same ECB-operated platform.

Iceland: Letter of Intent

In September 2024, Sedlabanki Islands (Central Bank of Iceland) sent a letter of intent regarding the potential onboarding of the Icelandic krona onto TIPS. A feasibility assessment is underway and a CPA is in preparation.

If Iceland proceeds, it would mark the entry of the smallest Nordic economy and potentially the fifth currency on TIPS.

TIPS X-CCY: The Cross-Currency Catalyst

The piece that ties the Nordic convergence together is TIPS Cross-Currency (TIPS X-CCY), launched in October 2025. This service enables instant payments to settle across different TIPS currencies - initially between the euro, Swedish krona, and Danish krone.

How it works: A payer in Sweden sending SEK to a recipient in Denmark receiving DKK would have the payment cleared through the TIPS platform, with the FX conversion handled within the settlement process. The service eliminates the need for pre-funded nostro accounts in each currency for instant cross-border payments within the TIPS ecosystem.

The Riksbank aims for updated Terms and Conditions incorporating TIPS X-CCY to enter into force by end of June 2026, with proposed amendments going to RIX participants during spring 2026.

When Norway joins in 2028, the SEK-NOK and DKK-NOK corridors would become eligible for TIPS X-CCY settlement, creating an instant cross-border payment capability covering the three Scandinavian economies.

RT1: The Private Sector Alternative

EBA Clearing's RT1 continues to operate as a private-sector pan-European instant payment clearing system. RT1 clears transactions and submits net settlement positions to TIPS, functioning as a clearing layer on top of TIPS settlement.

The coexistence of RT1 and direct TIPS access creates options for banks. Larger institutions may choose direct TIPS participation for settlement efficiency, while others may prefer RT1's clearing services. For Nordic banks operating across multiple currencies, the multi-currency TIPS infrastructure reduces the argument for maintaining separate domestic clearing arrangements.

What This Means for the Nordic Payment Landscape

Infrastructure consolidation: The Nordics spent years debating how to rationalise their fragmented payment infrastructure. The P27 initiative - originally intended to create a unified Nordic payment platform - pivoted in 2024 and ultimately contributed intellectual groundwork without delivering a single platform. TIPS is delivering what P27 envisioned, but through Eurosystem infrastructure rather than a standalone Nordic entity.

Implications for Bankgirot: Sweden's Bankgirot is phasing out traditional batch clearing services by end of 2026. With instant payments settling on TIPS, the business case for maintaining a separate domestic batch clearing infrastructure weakens further. The transition from Bankgirot to TIPS-centred settlement is the most significant Swedish clearing infrastructure change in decades.

Finland's position: Finland, as a eurozone member, already settles euro-denominated instant payments through TIPS via the Bank of Finland. The addition of other Nordic currencies to TIPS means Finnish banks will be able to reach Swedish, Danish, and eventually Norwegian counterparties on the same platform they already use for euro payments.

Competitive dynamics with Wero: The European Payments Initiative's (EPI) Wero wallet is building a pan-European instant payment experience on top of SEPA Inst and TIPS settlement. The multi-currency TIPS capability could extend Wero's reach into non-euro Nordic markets, though this depends on scheme decisions and participant adoption.

Key Takeaway

The Nordics are converging on TIPS as their shared instant payment settlement platform - not through a single political decision, but through four separate central bank decisions that point in the same direction. By 2028, the euro, Swedish krona, Danish krone, and Norwegian krone will all settle on the same ECB-operated infrastructure. Add the TIPS X-CCY cross-currency service, and you have the technical foundation for seamless instant payments across the Nordic region.

For payments architects and treasury teams operating in the Nordics, this convergence simplifies the settlement map considerably. The question is no longer which domestic system each country will build, but how quickly each central bank completes its TIPS migration and how the cross-currency service scales.

Sources: ECB - TARGET Services Annual Report 2024; Sveriges Riksbank - Instant Cross-Currency Payments (TIPS X-CCY); ECB - TIPS Cross-Border Payments; ECB - NPC Vision: One Nordic Payment Area (October 2025); ECB - Call for Expression of Interest: TIPS Cross-Currency Service (January 2025).