title: France — Correspondent Banking, Settlement & Access | World Payments Monitor canonical: https://payments.gi/jurisdictions/france/w12/ publisher: Asymmetric Intelligence ### W12 Correspondent Banking, Settlement & Access 1 gap Confirmed confirmed 2026-06-23 Non-bank PSPs (PIs/EMIs) gained direct TARGET/TIPS access from 6 Oct 2025 (Guideline ECB/2025/28); settlement-only accounts (not safeguarding), holding limit ~2x peak 12-month daily outflow, no Eurosystem credit; indirect participants transition by 31 Dec 2025; PSR Art. 32 proposed to counter de-risking. Open gap — wpm-int-8 No correspondent-banking/settlement-access development for France was located this cycle._no under-indexing note recorded_ Horizon · 2026 (± a year) PSR Article 32 counter-de-risking measures for non-bank PSP account access_Consultation · Tier 1 source_ Standing sub-brief · as of 26 June 2026 239 words · last cycle 2026-06-23 #### Correspondent Banking, Settlement & Access The analytical spine of this module is the bank versus non-bank access asymmetry, and this cycle delivers the most material structural change to it. Following the IPR amending the Settlement Finality Directive, the Eurosystem policy approved 17 July 2024 grants non-bank PSPs (PIs and EMIs) direct access to TARGET — T2 for settling payments and TIPS for instant payments — from 6 October 2025 under Guideline ECB/2025/28, under the same requirements as credit institutions. The accounts are settlement-only (they cannot safeguard users' funds), subject to a holding limit typically around twice the highest daily outgoing-transfer value over the past twelve months, and not eligible for Eurosystem credit; indirect participants are to transition by 31 December 2025. This is a landmark change: French PIs and EMIs can now settle directly in central bank money without a sponsoring bank, reducing dependence on correspondent access. The asymmetry is not fully resolved. Settlement-only accounts do not solve the safeguarding-account de-risking problem. The Eurosystem notes non-bank PSPs have cited difficulties opening and maintaining accounts with credit institutions owing to bank de-risking; Article 32 of the draft Payment Services Regulation proposes measures to counter such practices, requiring any refusal or withdrawal of access to be based on serious grounds. #### Outlook PSR Article 32 counter-de-risking measures, expected in 2026, directly address the safeguarding and operating-account de-risking that constrains French non-bank PSP viability — the key forward access-rights development for the module. no periodic updates on record for this sub-brief ** Sources and findings (4)** 1. T1 [https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/intro/news/html/ecb.mipnews20240719.en.html](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/intro/news/html/ecb.mipnews20240719.en.html) retrieved 2026-06-23 2. T3 [https://inventi.io/news/non-bank-psps-gain-direct-access-to-target2-services/](https://inventi.io/news/non-bank-psps-gain-direct-access-to-target2-services/) retrieved 2026-06-23 3. T1 [https://www.banque-france.fr/en/financial-stability/institutional-framework/systems-operated-banque-de-france](https://www.banque-france.fr/en/financial-stability/institutional-framework/systems-operated-banque-de-france) retrieved 2026-06-23 4. T1 [https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/target/target-professional-use-documents-links/tips/shared/pdf/Eurosys_pol_on_access_to_central_bank_operated_payment_systems_by_NBPSPs.pdf](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/target/target-professional-use-documents-links/tips/shared/pdf/Eurosys_pol_on_access_to_central_bank_operated_payment_systems_by_NBPSPs.pdf) retrieved 2026-06-23