The European Parliament (EP) and the Council of the European Union have decided upon a shorter settlement cycle for securities transactions in the EU. The Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) welcomes the planned move to a T+1 settlement cycle and is following its implementation process closely.
Securities settlement describes the process under which securities are transferred to the buyer while the payment is transferred to the seller following a trade. The standard procedure for doing so is by means of transfers into the respective securities accounts. Currently there is a T+2 settlement cycle, i.e. settlement takes place two business days after the trading day. Under the new rules, settlement will be shortened to T+1 .
Moving to the shorter settlement cycle
The move to a shorter settlement cycle for securities transactions will take place on 11 October 2027. The aim is to align the European capital market more closely to international standards, in particular towards markets like the USA and China, who have already moved to a T+1 cycle. By shortening the cycle from two days to one day processes are intended to become more efficient, thereby increasing competitiveness within the EU. Furthermore, a shorter cycle may contribute toward reducing collateral requirements.
The Austrian Financial Market Authority supports the scheduled move and will be accompanying the move as the supervisor.
The move to T+1 will be accompanied by various organisational and technical changes for market participants. To help them prepare, the FMA recommends them to look at the Roadmap that was published by the EU T+1 Industry Committee on 30 June 2025. The roadmap contains practical recommendations, including changes in trading times as well as greater levels of automation and standardisation of processes.
In addition, the EU T+1 Industry Committee published the EU T+1 Securities Settlement Handbook on 03 February 2026. This document provides comprehensive technical and operational guidance for market participants, and contains detailed process descriptions, recommendations for best practices, and guidance for preparation on the EU-wide migration to T+1 .
Further information about the move to T+1 can be found on the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) website.
Complementary survey launched accompanying the EU T+1 Industry Committee Survey
The CSDR has introduced the obligation to change from from a T+2 to a T+1 settlement cycle from 11 October 2027. This constitutes a major change necessitating the testing of systems and operational processes across the entire trading and post-trading chain, and not only restricted to the settlement level.
In order to assess market participants’ readiness for the changeover over to T+1 as well as to obtain an in-depth picture of the situation in Austria as well as for identifying areas in which activity may be required, the FMA is asking market participants to participate in a voluntary survey.
Responses submitted to the survey will only be made available to the FMA and ESMA.
National competent authority survey: Link to the FMA survey
In addition, the FMA would also like to draw attention to the opening of the following survey for assessing awareness and readiness in EU Member States.
EU T+1 Industry Committee (EUIC) – Second Readiness Survey: Link to the EUIC survey
Please note that EUIC survey responses are anonymous and will only be made available in aggregated form.
The deadline for responses for both parallel NCA and EUIC surveys is 11 June 2026.
Widespread participation across all financial market sectors and EU Member States for both surveys is essential to obtain as accurate a picture as possible about readiness and to identify potential areas requiring further activity.
Further information:
Downloads
T+1 Testing Plan (Format: pdf, Size: 1,2 MB, Language: English)
EU T+1 Securities Settlement Handbook (Format: pdf, Size: 1,1 MB, Language: English)
EU T+1 Industry Committee Website
ESMA webpage about Shortening the settlement cycle to T+1 in the EU