Pontes goes live: opening a new chapter for central bank money

Pontes goes live, marking an important step for the ECB, the Eurosystem and the wider European financial system. Pontes is the Eurosystem’s solution for connecting new digital market platforms with existing central bank settlement services. In practical terms, it creates a bridge between market Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platforms and TARGET Services, so that wholesale financial transactions based on DLT can be settled safely in central bank money. In doing so, Pontes makes a significant contribution in the development of digital finance and in making central bank money fit for the digital age.