ECB and Brazil Explore Link Between Instant Payment Systems
The European Central Bank (ECB) and the Central Bank of Brazil have launched a study to explore the feasibility of linking their respective instant payment systems, TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) and Pix.
The two institutions will examine technical compatibility, operational processes, legal frameworks, and commercial implications as part of this interconnection project. The rationale behind this initiative is the significant trade and financial activity already occurring between the euro area and Brazil.
Officials believe that a working link could enable payments to travel in seconds rather than days and at lower cost than traditional correspondent-banking routes. Pix currently handles around 250 million instant transfers daily, all settled in central-bank money, while TIPS settles euro, Swedish krona, and Danish krone payments around the clock.
The project aims to create an interoperable corridor connecting two of the world's largest public instant-payment infrastructures. The study is part of a wider Eurosystem programme to attach TIPS to foreign fast-payment systems, including parallel work with India's Unified Payments Interface, Switzerland's instant-clearing platform, and the Bank for International Settlements' multilateral Nexus network.
The goal is to contribute to the G20 roadmap for cheaper, faster, more transparent, and more accessible cross-border payments. Brazilian authorities describe the study as part of Pix's 'evolutionary agenda' and one of several planned links with similar systems abroad.