The ECB at Sibos 2026

Join our session to discover how the Eurosystem’s TIPS and T2 services enable funds to move quickly, securely, and efficiently between central banks, commercial banks, and payment service providers. Learn how TIPS delivers instant payments around the clock and how T2 underpins the settlement of large-value transactions across the European financial system. Discover the latest developments, from the future of T2 operating hours and the onboarding of new currencies to TIPS, to the rapid growth of instant payments across Europe.

Join our session to explore how the Eurosystem is leveraging these technologies through its Appia and Pontes initiatives to support a more integrated, and innovative financial ecosystem. Discover how this work helps safeguard the role of central bank money, strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy, and support the euro’s continued relevance in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.

Join our session to discover the Eurosystem’s DLT solution that bridges market DLT platforms and TARGET Services to enable the settlement of DLT-based wholesale transactions in central bank money. Learn how Pontes supports innovation and market development and lays the foundation for a more integrated European digital asset ecosystem.

Join our session to discover how TARGET2-Securities (T2S) and the Eurosystem Collateral Management System (ECMS) support Europe’s financial markets. Discover what is next for Europe’s market infrastructure, from the transition to T+1 settlement in T2S to exploring the use of DLT-based assets as eligible Eurosystem collateral.

In a world where threats evolve faster than defenses, operational excellence is no longer just about efficiency — it’s about building cyber resilience and preparing for profound changes, such as those that quantum computing will bring to the security foundations of the financial industry. This session will explore how we as an industry can proactively address the challenges posed by quantum disruption, focusing on the importance of transitioning to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) to protect critical operations amid uncertainty about when powerful quantum computers will emerge.

Speakers:

• Francisco Jose Tur Hartmann, European Central Bank
• Juan Ellas, SWIFT
• Isabelle Noblesse, SWIFT

Digital forms of money, from deposits to stablecoins and central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), are gaining momentum. Yet fragmentation across models and infrastructures is limiting interoperability and scale. This session focuses on how standardisation can enable seamless integration between tokenised money and existing payments systems.

It will highlight why ISO 20022 compatibility, standardised token definitions and lifecycles are essential to programmability, efficiency and cross-platform interoperability. Market participants will talk us through a real-world payment use case, leveraging tokenised deposit instruments and reusable smart contract templates aligned with ISO standards.

Speakers: 

• Holger Neuhaus, European Central Bank
• Charifta El Otmani, SWIFT

Traditionally, trust in the financial system has rested on authority, grounded in strong governance and regulation. But is that about to change? The move to tokenised money and securities presents potentially radical challenges to this existing model, as well as new opportunities enabled by technology such as the potential for real-time, continuous verification. In this session, we’ll discuss the potential ‘trust stack’ of the new financial system, where trust is built, not assumed. The panel will explore the roles that governance, technology and privacy will play in this new configuration.

Speakers: 

• Thomas Vlassopoulos, European Central Bank
• Steve Cerveny, Kaleido INC
• Sandra Ro, Global Blockchain Business Council
• Ee Fong Alice Soh, DBS Bank

Moderated by Matt Higginson, McKinsey & Company

Join our session to learn how the Eurosystem is exploring ways to make international payments faster, cheaper, and more accessible and how these efforts support the G20 Roadmap. You will also learn how the Eurosystem is exploring linking its fast payment system, TIPS, with payment systems around the world. What are the potential TIPS interlinking corridors, their current status and the opportunities they could unlock?

As the UK and EU advance towards T+1 adoption, how do we achieve a smooth transition while maintaining cross-market alignment? Real-life examples in the U.S. and Canada – where firms saw increased affirmation pressures, tighter liquidity windows and heightened FX and funding challenges – offer valuable lessons. This session explores how to avoid settlement frictions by improving data quality, strengthening post trade automation and coordinating cut off times across jurisdictions. Panellists will discuss what global alignment could look like and how market infrastructures can support a more resilient, synchronised post trade ecosystem.

Speakers: 

• Dimitri Pattyn, European Central Bank
• Vijay Chandok, National Securities Depository Limited
• Hannah Elson, J.P. Morgan
• Emma Johnson, The Valueexchange
• Sachin Mohindra, Goldman Sachs
• Mike Reece, Euroclear

Learn more about the upcoming digital euro pilot where the ECB and national central banks will begin testing a beta version of the digital euro in everyday settings, from cafés and restaurants on their premises, and with selected online merchants at these locations.

Tokenisation and distributed ledger technology (DLT) are opening new opportunities to transform wholesale financial markets. Pontes is part of the Eurosystem’s broader strategy to enable the use of central bank money in tokenised form for wholesale financial transactions on DLT platforms.

In this session, you will gain a clear understanding of what Pontes is, how it works, and the role it plays in the evolving financial ecosystem. You will also learn how to get involved and have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion.