Secure and efficient transactions of funds are key in a modern economy. In order to have smooth transactions one needs reliable infrastructure that allows banks to wire money to one another in real-time. This is called real-time gross settlement (RTGS).

As of 1999 the TARGET platform was used for this purpose. TARGET was based on the local RTGS-systems of participating countries. Given that a fluent functioning of payment systems and market infrastructures is an important instrument for the Eurosystem to preserve financial stability in the euro area, the decision was made to develop a centralised technical platform for real-time gross settlement. To that end three central banks of the Eurosystem (Banca d'Italia, Banque de France and Deutsche Bundesbank) constructed the TARGET2 platform. They run the platform on behalf of the Eurosystem since 2008.

TARGET2 meets three important objectives of the Eurosystem:

• To provide a secure and reliable mechanism for the settlement of (interbank and other) euro-denominated RTGS transfers;
• To enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments in the euro area;
• To provide a platform for the implementation of the monetary policy of the Eurosystem by means of central bank operations.

Nearly 1800 banks are direct participants in TARGET2. They utilize the platform to execute euro-denominated transactions for their own account and for their clients. In addition they represent other financial institutions that do not have a direct connection to TARGET2. Through the services delivered by direct participants to those financial institutions, more than 55000 banks worldwide are reachable via TARGET2.

The National Bank of Belgium constitutes the legal counterparty of Belgian banks that participate directly in Target2. To the participants of the Belgian component of TARGET2 (TARGET2-BE) the National Bank of Belgium is interlocutor for all TARGET2 related matters. Besides that the NBB fulfils an important operational roll for the Belgian TARGET2 participants: the opening of accounts, the monitoring of transactions, the implementation of monetary policy operations and aid the banks in case problems arise.