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End-to-end testing for TARGET2 consolidation

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At the end of 2022, Europe will migrate to the renewed TARGET environment. For payments, this mainly involves connecting to the new infrastructure and switching from long-established MT messages to XML. It is a complex operation that will be implemented as a big-bang migration.

Every bank with an account in TARGET will be affected by this migration and must make preparations. The ECB is coordinating the programme at European level and De Nederlandsche Bank is coordinating it in the Netherlands. Given the significant implementation risks, De Nederlandsche Bank is closely monitoring the programme and reviews banks’ progress every quarter. Each bank must also complete a mandatory testing programme to demonstrate that it can exchange the new XML messages based on the ISO 20022 standard.

In addition to these mandatory tests, it is good practice in the Netherlands to test major changes end to end across all parties. This demonstrates that the entire chain is ready. The Dutch Payments Association is coordinating these tests with the Test Group of the TARGET Consolidation Consulting Group Netherlands (TCCG-NL). The group has now agreed the master plan for the tests. Test scripts are currently being developed, covering standard test scenarios and messages as well as matters specific to the Netherlands, such as the Current Account Switch Service.

The end-to-end tests will take place alongside the ECB’s mandatory testing programme, which runs from 1 December 2021 to 30 September 2022. The Dutch Payments Association will invite every bank with an account in TARGET to participate. This process will begin after the summer, after which the tests can be scheduled definitively. For more information, please contact the Dutch Payments Association’s Products and Standards team at giraal@betaalvereniging.nl.

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