Instruction No. 6/2026: TARGET-PT Regulation

Instruction No. 6/2026 Official Gazette No. 8/2026 • 2026/08/17 .................................................................................................................................................................................................. Topics Payment Systems :: Large-Value Payment System Mod. 99999940/T – 01/14 Index Instruction Text Instruction Text Subject: TARGET-PT Regulation Following the publication of Guideline (EU) 2026/1473 of the European Central Bank of May 4, 2026, which amends Guideline (EU) 2022/912 on a new generation Trans-European Automated Real-time Gross Settlement Express Transfer system (TARGET) (ECB/2022/8) (ECB/2026/11), it becomes necessary to amend Bank of Portugal Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, 2022, which implements ECB/2022/8 Guideline into national law. Following the decision of June 11, 2021, where the ECB Governing Council decided that the functionality of the TARGET instant payment settlement (TIPS) service for settlement in different currencies (cross-currency) is in line with the Eurosystem's strategic objectives, TIPS will allow, from November 14, 2026, the sending and receiving of payments by or to TIPS participants who adhere to the SEPA One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) mechanism of the European Payments Council (EPC). This amendment also introduces, from June 25, 2026, a facility that will allow participants to better manage their liquidity, making automatic liquidity transfers possible between a participant's main cash accounts (MCAs) and their TIPS dedicated cash accounts (TIPS DCAs), in case of non-compliance with a minimum or maximum limit set by the participant. The fees applicable to holders of dedicated cash accounts for real-time gross settlement (RTGS DCAs) are also being amended from July 1, 2026. It is also necessary to clarify the eligibility regime applicable to applicants subject to restrictive measures adopted by the Council of the European Union or by Member States under Article 65(1)(b), Article 75, or Article 215 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, with effects comparable to near-insolvency situations, ensuring proportional treatment of such applicants and, for this purpose, limiting the discretionary power of the TARGET component operator. Thus, in the exercise of the competence attributed to it by Article 14 of its Organic Law, which grants it powers to regulate, supervise, and promote the proper functioning of payment systems, particularly within the scope of its participation in the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), and in order to regulate the functioning of the national component system of TARGET – TARGET-PT, the Bank of Portugal determines the following:

1. In Bank of Portugal Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, Article 2 is amended as follows: a) Sub-paragraph 28-A) is inserted: "28-A) 'SEPA One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) mechanism of the European Payments Council' or 'OCT Inst mechanism;'." b) Point 63-A) is deleted.
2. In Annex I of Bank of Portugal Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, Part I is amended as follows: a) Article 4(1) is amended to read as follows: "1. The following types of entities are eligible to become TARGET-PT participants upon request: a) Credit institutions established in the Union or the EEA, even when operating through a branch established in the Union or the EEA; b) Credit institutions established outside the EEA, provided they operate through a branch established in the Union or the EEA; c) The NCBs of the Member States and the ECB; provided that the entities referred to in sub-paragraphs a) and b) are not subject to restrictive measures adopted by the Council of the European Union or by any Member State under Article 65(1)(b), Article 75, or Article 215 of the Treaty that have the effect of suspending or imposing limitations on transfers or payments from or to that entity similar to suspensions or limitations in insolvency proceedings." b) Article 5(1)(f) is amended to read as follows: "f) If it is an applicant for a TIPS DCA, it must have adhered to the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism by signing the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement and, if applicable, must have adhered to the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer mechanism (OCT Inst mechanism) by signing the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement;" c) Article 5(1)(g) is amended to read as follows: "g) If it is an applicant for a TIPS AS technical account, it must have provided evidence that it has submitted to the European Payments Council (EPC) a letter of information demonstrating its intention to be a Clearing and Settlement Mechanism (CSM) that complies with the requirements of the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism and, if relevant, to be a CSM that complies with the requirements of the OCT Inst mechanism;" d) Article 5(2)(c) is amended to read as follows: "c) If it is an applicant for a TIPS DCA, evidence of adherence to the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism by signing the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement and, if applicable, that it has adhered to the OCT Inst mechanism by signing the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement;" e) Article 5(2)(d) is amended to read as follows: "d) If the applicant requests the use of the TIPS AS settlement procedure, evidence that it has submitted to the European Payments Council a letter of information demonstrating its intention to be a CSM in accordance with the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism and, if applicable, a CSM in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism;" f) Article 15(2) is amended to read as follows: "2. The participant may choose to receive a notification in case of non-compliance with the minimum or maximum amount. In addition, with regard to MCAs, RTGS DCAs or TIPS DCAs, the participant may choose for non-compliance to trigger a rule-based liquidity transfer order." g) Article 18(1)(b) is amended to read as follows: "b) Instant payment orders are considered entered into TARGET-PT and irrevocable at the time of reservation of the necessary funds in the participant's TIPS DCA or its TIPS AS technical account;" h) Article 27(4)(b) is amended to read as follows: "b) Any other situation of non-compliance or situation referred to in Article 25(2), which has led to the cancellation or suspension of the participant's participation, and notwithstanding the opening of insolvency proceedings against a participant and despite any alleged assignment, judicial or extrajudicial attachment or other provision relating to the participant's rights,"
3. In Annex I of Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, Part II is amended as follows: a) Article 6(4) is amended to read as follows: "4. The holder of an MCA may authorize it to be debited in case of non-compliance with the minimum limit in one or more specified RTGS DCAs, TIPS DCAs or MCAs of the same liquidity transfer group in TARGET-PT or another TARGET component system. By authorizing the debit of its account, the MCA holder instructs the Bank of Portugal to execute a rule-based liquidity transfer order by which the RTGS DCAs, TIPS DCAs or MCAs are credited whenever the minimum limit is not met." b) Article 11 is amended to read as follows: "Article 11 Eligible collateral assets for credit Intraday credit and access to the CCP credit facility must be based on eligible collateral assets. Assets identical to those eligible for Eurosystem monetary policy operations are eligible as collateral, being subject to the same valuation and risk control rules as those established in the Bank of Portugal Instructions relating to the implementation of Eurosystem monetary policy."
4. In Annex I of Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, Part V is amended as follows: a) Article 1(3) is amended to read as follows: "3. The TIPS DCA holder must inform the Bank of Portugal before exercising its option to accept instant payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism." b) Article 3(1), (2) and (3) are amended to read as follows: "1. The TIPS DCA holder may designate one or more contactable parties and must inform the Bank of Portugal if any of these contactable parties accept instant payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism. The contactable parties must have adhered to the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism by subscribing to the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement and, if applicable, to the OCT Inst mechanism, by subscribing to the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement.
5. TIPS DCA holders must provide evidence to the Bank of Portugal of adherence to the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism by each designated contactable party and, if applicable, to the OCT Inst mechanism.
6. TIPS DCA holders must inform the Bank of Portugal if any designated contactable party ceases to adhere to the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism and/or, if applicable, to the OCT Inst mechanism, and take, without undue delay, measures to prevent its access to the TIPS DCA." c) Article 4(1)(a-A) is deleted. d) Article 6(3) is amended to read as follows: "3. Upon acceptance of an instant payment order under Part I, Article 17, TARGET-PT must verify if sufficient funds are available in the payer's TIPS DCA to effect settlement and the following shall apply: a) If sufficient funds are not available, the instant payment order must be rejected; b) If sufficient funds are available, the corresponding amount must be reserved pending the beneficiary's response. In case of acceptance by the beneficiary of an instant payment order, the order must be settled and the reservation must be simultaneously lifted. In case of rejection by the beneficiary of an instant payment order, or absence of a timely response, within the meaning of the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism or the OCT Inst mechanism, the instant payment order must be cancelled and the reservation must be simultaneously lifted." e) Article 6(5) is amended to read as follows: "5. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3, sub-paragraph b), the Bank of Portugal must reject an instant payment order if the amount of the instant payment order exceeds the applicable credit memorandum balance (CMB);" f) Article 7-A is inserted: "Article 7-A Rule-based liquidity transfer orders
7. The holder of a TIPS DCA may specify a minimum amount and a maximum amount for its TIPS DCA.
8. By establishing a maximum amount and opting for a rule-based liquidity transfer order, if, following the settlement of an instant payment order, a positive response to a revocation request or a liquidity transfer order, the maximum amount is not met, the TIPS DCA holder instructs the Bank of Portugal to execute a rule-based liquidity transfer order that credits an MCA designated by that TIPS DCA holder. The credited MCA may belong to another TARGET-PT participant or another TARGET component system.
9. By establishing a minimum amount and opting for a rule-based liquidity transfer order, if, following the settlement of an instant payment order, a positive response to a revocation request or a liquidity transfer order, the minimum amount is not met, a rule-based liquidity transfer order is issued that debits an MCA authorized by the MCA holder. The debited MCA may belong to another TARGET-PT participant or another TARGET component system. The holder of the debited MCA must authorize its MCA to be debited in this way." g) Article 8(1) is amended to read as follows: "1. The TIPS directory is a list of BICs used for routing information and includes the BICs of: a) TIPS DCA holders; b) Contactable parties. The TIPS directory must include, for each BIC, information on whether the TIPS DCA holder or the contactable party accepts instant payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism." h) Article 10(4) is amended to read as follows: "4. The Bank of Portugal must process instant payment orders from a TIPS DCA holder whose participation in TARGET-PT has been suspended or cancelled under Part I, Article 25(1) or (2), and for which the Bank of Portugal has reserved funds in a TIPS DCA, under Article 6(3)(b), before the suspension or cancellation."
10. In Annex I of Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, Part VII is amended as follows: a) Article 1(1) is amended to read as follows: "1. The Bank of Portugal may, at the request of an AS that settles instant payments under the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism and, if applicable, the OCT Inst mechanism and, if applicable, near-instant payments in its own records, open and operate one or more TIPS AS technical accounts. If the holder of a TIPS AS technical account exercises its option to accept instant payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism, it must inform the Bank of Portugal of this fact." b) Article 1(5) and (6) are amended to read as follows: "5. An ancillary system may send instant payment orders and positive responses to revocation requests to any TIPS DCA holder or any TIPS AS technical account holder, and may send instant payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism to any TIPS DCA holder or TIPS AS technical account holder that has opted to receive them.
11. The ancillary system must receive and process instant payment orders, revocation requests and positive responses to revocation requests from any TIPS DCA holder or any TIPS AS technical account holder. If it has informed the Bank of Portugal of the exercise of its option under paragraph 1, it must accept instant payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism from any TIPS DCA holder or any TIPS AS technical account holder that has opted to send them." c) Article 4(3) is amended to read as follows: "3. Upon acceptance of an instant payment order under Part I, Article 17(1), the Bank of Portugal must verify if sufficient funds are available in the payer's TIPS AS technical account to effect settlement and the following shall apply: a) If sufficient funds are not available, the instant payment order must be rejected; b) If sufficient funds are available, the corresponding amount must be reserved pending the beneficiary's response. In case of acceptance by the beneficiary of an instant payment order, the order must be settled and the reservation must be simultaneously lifted. In case of rejection by the beneficiary of an instant payment order, or absence of a timely response, within the meaning of the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism or the OCT Inst mechanism, the instant payment order must be cancelled and the reservation must be simultaneously lifted." d) Article 4(5) is amended to read as follows: "5. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 3, sub-paragraph b), the Bank of Portugal must reject an instant payment order if the amount of the instant payment order exceeds the applicable credit memorandum balance (CMB)." e) Article 5(2) is amended to read as follows: "2. The revocation request must be forwarded to the beneficiary of the settled instant payment order, who may respond by means of a positive or negative response to the revocation request." f) Article 7(1) is amended to read as follows: "1. The holder of a TIPS AS technical account may designate one or more contactable parties. The contactable parties must have adhered to the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism by subscribing to the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement and, if applicable, to the OCT Inst mechanism by subscribing to the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer Adherence Agreement, and, if they are addressable in TARGET as RTGS DCA holders, as addressable BIC holders or as entities referred to in Part III, Article 3(1)(a), that have been authorized to use an RTGS DCA through multi-recipient access, they must be TIPS DCA holders or be contactable through a TIPS DCA." g) Article 7(2) is amended to read as follows: "2. TIPS AS technical account holders must provide proof to the Bank of Portugal of adherence to the SEPA instant credit transfer mechanism by each designated contactable party and, if applicable, to the OCT Inst mechanism." h) In Article 7, the following paragraph 3-A is inserted: "3-A. The holder of a TIPS AS technical account must inform the Bank of Portugal if any designated contactable party ceases to adhere to the OCT Inst mechanism." i) Article 8(1)(d) is deleted; j) Article 9(1) is amended to read as follows: "1. The TIPS directory is a list of BICs used for routing information and includes the BICs of: a) TIPS DCA holders; b) Contactable parties. The TIPS directory must include, for each BIC, information on whether the TIPS DCA holder or the contactable party accepts instant payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism." k) Article 11(4) is amended to read as follows: "4. The Bank of Portugal processes instant payment orders from a TIPS AS technical account holder whose participation in TARGET-PT has been suspended or cancelled under Part I, Article 25(1) or (2), and for which the Bank of Portugal has reserved funds in a TIPS AS technical account, under Article 4(3)(b), before the suspension or cancellation." l) Article 12(1) is amended to read as follows: "1. TIPS AS technical account holders may use the message broadcasting function offered by TIPS, which allows a TIPS DCA holder or a TIPS AS technical account holder to send a message to all other TIPS DCA holders and TIPS AS technical account holders, in order to send broadcast messages of the following categories: a) 'Immediate start of unavailability'; b) 'Immediate end of unavailability'; c) 'Planned unavailability period.'"
12. In Annex I of Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, Appendix I is amended as follows:

Instruction No. 6/2026 BO No. 8/2026 • 2026/08/17 Topics Payment Systems :: Large-Value Payment System .................................................................................................................................................................................................. Mod. 99999940/T – 01/14

a) In section 4, letter d), the table shall have the following wording:

Message Type	Description
Payment Clearing and Settlement (pacs)
pacs.002	FIToFIPayment Status Report
pacs.004	PaymentReturn
pacs.008	FIToFICustomerCreditTransfer
pacs.028	FIToFIPaymentStatusRequest
Cash Management (camt)
camt.003	GetAccount
camt.004	ReturnAccount
camt.011	ModifyLimit
camt.019	ReturnBusinessDayInformation
camt.025	Receipt
camt.027	ClaimNonReceipt
camt.029	ResolutionOfInvestigation
camt.050	LiquidityCreditTransfer
camt.052	BankToCustomerAccountReport
camt.053	BankToCustomerStatement
camt.054	BankToCustomerDebitCreditNotification
camt.056	FIToFIPaymentCancellationRequest
acmt.010	AccountRequestAcknowledgement
acmt.011	AccountRequestRejection
acmt.015	AccountExcludedMandateMaintenanceRequest
admi.004	SystemEventNotification
Reference data (reda)
reda.016	PartyStatusAdviceV01
reda.022	PartyModificationRequestV01

b) In section 4, letter e) shall have the following wording:

“e) For immediate payment orders in accordance with the ACT Inst mechanism, the following additional message subtypes are used:

Message Type	Description
pacs.002.001.03	FIToFIPayment Status Report
pacs.008.001.08	FIToFICustomerCreditTransfer
pacs.028.001.03	FIToFIPaymentStatusRequest

Messages related to immediate payment orders in accordance with the OCT Inst mechanism shall be identified with the suffix XCY in the message exchange protocol.”.

c) In section 6, the last unnumbered paragraph shall have the following wording:

“If an immediate payment order or a positive response to a revocation request is rejected for any reason, the holder of the TIPS CND receives a payment status report (pacs.002), as described in chapter 4.2 of the TIPS UDFS. If a liquidity transfer order is rejected for any reason, the holder of the TIPS CND receives a rejection message (camt.025) as described in chapter 1.6 of the TIPS UDFS.”.

7. In Annex I of Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, Appendix VI is amended as follows:

a) In section 3, paragraph 1, the introductory wording is replaced by the following:

“1. Until June 30, 2026, holders of LBTR CNDs must choose one of the following two pricing determination options:”;

b) In section 3, the following paragraph 1-A is inserted:

“1-A. From July 1, 2026, holders of LBTR CNDs must choose one of the following two pricing determination options:

a) A monthly fee, plus a fixed transaction fee per payment order (direct debit);

Monthly Fee	Transaction Fee per Payment Order
400 EUR	0.80 EUR

b) A monthly fee, plus a transaction fee based on the volume of payment orders (direct debit) and calculated on a cumulative basis, as established in the following table. In the case of participants included in a billing group, the monthly direct debit payment orders of all participants must be aggregated.

Monthly Fee	Monthly Volume of Payment Orders	Band	From	To	Transaction Fee per Payment Order
5,000 EUR		1	1	10,000	0.60
		2	10,001	35,000	0.50
		3	35,001	80,000	0.40
		4	80,001	135,000	0.20
		5	135,001	200,000	0.125
		6	200,001	300,000	0.08
		7	Above 300,000		0.05

a) In section 6, letter c) shall have the following wording:

“c) Regarding each immediate payment order or positive response to a revocation request accepted by the Bank of Portugal under Part I, Article 17, a fee of 0.001 EUR is charged to both the TIPS CND holder to be debited and the TIPS CND holder or SP TIPS technical account holder to be credited, regardless of whether the immediate payment order or the positive response to the revocation request is settled or not.”;

b) In section 7, letter c) shall have the following wording:

“c) Regarding each immediate payment order or positive response to a revocation request accepted by the Bank of Portugal under Part I, Article 17, a fee of 0.001 EUR is charged to both the SP TIPS technical account holder to be debited and the SP TIPS technical account holder or TIPS CND holder to be credited, regardless of whether the immediate payment order or the positive response to the revocation request is settled or not.”;

8. Annex III of Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, is amended as follows:

a) Point 16) shall have the following wording:

“16) ‘Cash transfer order’: any instruction given by a participant or by a party acting on its behalf to make funds available to a beneficiary through an accounting entry in another account and which may take the form of a peripheral system transfer order, liquidity transfer order, immediate payment order, positive response to a revocation request, or payment order.”;

b) The following point 28-A is added:

“28-A) ‘SEPA One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) Mechanism of the Payments Council’ or ‘OCT Inst mechanism’, an open standards system that provides a set of rules, standards and interbank practices to be complied with by participants in the OCT Inst mechanism, allowing payment service providers in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) to achieve interoperability for the provision and operation of the euro component of an international instant credit transfer.”;

c) Point 33) shall have the following wording:

“33) ‘Immediate payment order’, in the context of the SEPA Instant Credit Transfer scheme (SCT Inst) or the One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) mechanism of the Payments Council, a cash transfer order that can be executed 24 hours a day, on any day of the year, with instant or near-instant settlement and notification to the payer, and which includes: i) immediate payment orders from TIPS CND to TIPS CND, ii) immediate payment orders from TIPS CND to SP TIPS technical account, iii) immediate payment orders from SP TIPS technical account to TIPS CND and iv) immediate payment orders from SP TIPS technical account to SP TIPS technical account.”;

d) Point 34) shall have the following wording:

“34) ‘Instructing party’: an entity that has been designated as such by a holder of a TIPS CND or a holder of an SP TIPS technical account and to which it is permitted to submit immediate payment orders, liquidity transfer orders and/or receive immediate payment orders, liquidity transfer orders on behalf of that account holder or a contactable party thereof.”;

e) Point 42) shall have the following wording:

“42) ‘Near instant payment’: a cash transfer order that complies with the Dutch standard applicable to the instant processing of SEPA credit transfers (NL Standard for instant processing of SEPA credit transfers) or the SEPA One-Leg Out Instant Credit Transfer (OCT Inst) mechanism of the Payments Council.”;

f) Point 48) shall have the following wording:

“48) ‘Payment order’: an instruction from a participant or a party acting on its behalf to make a certain monetary amount from an account available to a recipient through an accounting entry in another account and which is not a SP transfer order, a liquidity transfer order, an immediate payment order, or a positive response to a revocation request.”;

g) Point 55) shall have the following wording:

“55) ‘Rule-based liquidity transfer order’: a liquidity transfer order triggered as a result of: a) the balance of a CNP or an LBTR CND or a TIPS CND not meeting a predefined minimum or maximum limit; or b) insufficient available funds to cover orders waiting in a queue in an LBTR CND that are urgent payment orders, SP transfer orders or high-priority payment orders.”;

h) Point 63-A) is deleted.

9. Paragraph 1 of Article 30, of Part I, of Annex I of Instruction No. 16/2022, of October 17, is amended as follows:

“1. Unless otherwise provided by these Conditions, all notices or notifications required or permitted by virtue thereof shall be sent by registered mail, or other electronically agreed bilateral means, or by any other written means. Notifications to the Bank of Portugal are sent to the Direction of the Payment Systems Department (DPG) of the Bank of Portugal, via the email address target@bportugal.pt or to Avenida Álvaro Pais, 2, 1600-007 Lisbon, or addressed to the BIC address of the Bank of Portugal BGALPTTGXXX. Notices and notifications intended for participants shall be sent to their address, or by other electronically agreed bilateral means, or to the BIC address that the participant has communicated to the Bank of Portugal.”

10. The regulatory standards contained in this Instruction shall be applicable:

a) From June 15, 2026, with respect to Article 4(1), Article 15(2), and Article 27(4)(b) of Part I of Annex I; Article 6(4) and Article 11 of Part II of Annex I; Article 7-A of Part V of Annex I; Article 12(1) of Part VII of Annex I; Section 3, paragraphs 1 and 1-A, of Appendix VI of Annex I; point 55 of Annex III to Guideline (EU) 2022/912;

b) From November 14, 2026, with respect to Article 2; Article 5(1)(f) and (g), Article 5(2)(c) and (d), and Article 18(1)(b) of Part I of Annex I; Article 1(3), Article 3(1), (2) and (3), Article 4(1)(a-A), Article 6(3) and (5), Article 8(1), and Article 10(4) of Part V of Annex I; Article 1(1), (5) and (6), Article 4(3) and (5), Article 5(2), Article 7(1), (2) and (3-A), Article 8(1)(d), Article 9(1), and Article 11(4) of Part VII of Annex I; Section 4, letters d) and e), and Section 6, last paragraph of Appendix I of Annex I; Section 6, paragraph c), and Section 7, paragraph c), of Appendix VI of Annex I; and points 16, 28-A, 33, 34, 42, 48 and 63-A of Annex III.

c) From June 15, 2026 with respect to Article 9 of this Instruction.