SEPA and TARGET holidays 2026
In 2026, TARGET is closed for euro payments at weekends and on 1 January, 3 April (Good Friday), 6 April (Easter Monday), 1 May, 25 December and 26 December. Standard SEPA transfers and T2 payments sent on a closing day move on the next TARGET business day, while SEPA Instant runs every day of the year.
When will it arrive?
Pick the payment, then the day and time you send it. The calculator applies that system's closing days and cut-off, and gives the business day the payment settles, with every day it waits through and why.
Your bank can stop taking payments before the system does. If you know its cut-off, add it and the calculator counts from there.
It all runs in your browser; nothing you enter is sent anywhere.
Holyheld Business sends and receives ACH, SEPA, wires and Faster Payments. The pricing page lists the fees, and the off-ramp converts supported stablecoins to fiat for company payments.
Result
Arrives by Tuesday 7 April 2026 at the latest
Taken on Thursday 2 April, a standard SEPA transfer must reach the recipient's bank by the next TARGET business day.
Sent Thursday 2 April 2026 at 16:00 CEST
Why this day
- Friday 3 April: TARGET closing day (Good Friday)
- Saturday 4 April: weekend
- Sunday 5 April: weekend
- Monday 6 April: TARGET closing day (Easter Monday)
These are the system's own times. Your bank can stop taking payments earlier; add its cut-off to count from it.
TARGET closing days 2026
These are the days the ECB marks as TARGET closing days for 2026. T2 settles no euro payments on them or at weekends, and standard SEPA transfers wait too: the Bundesbank's SEPA clearing, for one, follows the TARGET calendar rather than German public holidays.
TARGET has no substitute days, so a closing day that falls on a weekend closes nothing extra. Thursday 24 December and Thursday 31 December are TARGET business days, although the ECB's own offices close on them.
| Holiday | Date | Payments |
|---|---|---|
| New Year's Day | Thursday 1 January 2026 | No settlement |
| Good Friday | Friday 3 April 2026 | No settlement |
| Easter Monday | Monday 6 April 2026 | No settlement |
| Labour Day | Friday 1 May 2026 | No settlement |
| Christmas Day | Friday 25 December 2026 | No settlement |
| Boxing Day | Saturday 26 December 2026 | Falls on a weekend; no substitute day |
Source: European Central Bank, as published on 27 October 2026.
SEPA and T2 hours and cut-offs
SEPA Instant runs around the clock. Standard SEPA transfers and T2 payments run on TARGET business days, and T2 takes customer payments until its cut-off.
Banks set their own cut-offs for standard SEPA transfers, so the scheme has no single time; ask your bank for its.
| System | Hours and cut-offs |
|---|---|
| SEPA Instant | Every day, 24 hours. The recipient's bank must make the money available within ten seconds. Source: European Central Bank |
| SEPA credit transfer | Must reach the recipient's bank by the next business day after your bank takes it. Your bank sets its own cut-off. Source: European Central Bank |
| SEPA credit transfer days | TARGET business days. The Bundesbank's SEPA clearing, for one, follows the TARGET calendar and runs on German public holidays that are not TARGET closing days. Source: Deutsche Bundesbank |
| T2 customer payments | Cut-off 17:00 CET Source: European Central Bank |
| T2 interbank payments | Cut-off 18:00 CET Source: European Central Bank |
| T2 business day | The next business day begins at 18:45 CET. Source: European Central Bank |
| T2 days | Monday to Friday, except the TARGET closing days Source: European Central Bank |
| Clock changes 2026 | Times are Frankfurt time, as the ECB gives them: CET, and CEST from 29 March to 25 October. From 8 to 28 March and 25 to 31 October 2026, New York is an hour closer to Frankfurt and London than usual, because the US and Europe change their clocks on different Sundays. The calculator allows for it. |
Questions about SEPA and TARGET in 2026
TARGET is closed for euro payments on Thursday 1 January (New Year's Day), Friday 3 April (Good Friday), Monday 6 April (Easter Monday), Friday 1 May (Labour Day), Friday 25 December (Christmas Day) and Saturday 26 December (Boxing Day), and every Saturday and Sunday. Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December) falls on a weekend in 2026 and closes no weekday, because TARGET has no substitute days.
Yes. SEPA Instant runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and the recipient's bank must make the money available within ten seconds. A standard SEPA transfer sent at the weekend or on a closing day moves on the next TARGET business day.
It must reach the recipient's bank no later than the next business day after your bank takes it. In a week without closing days, a transfer sent on Friday before your bank's cut-off arrives by Monday, and one sent after it by Tuesday.
There is no SEPA scheme called urgent. For a euro payment that has to arrive the same day, banks can use SEPA Instant, which runs every day, or T2, the Eurosystem's real-time gross settlement system, which takes customer payments until 17:00 CET on TARGET business days.
Yes. Thursday 24 December and Thursday 31 December are TARGET business days; only 25 and 26 December are closing days. The ECB's own offices close on 24 and 31 December, so check that your bank is open too.
Payment calendars
Sources
Every date and time on this page comes from these official pages, as published on 27 October 2026.
- European Central Bank: ECB public holidays (TARGET closing days are marked)
- European Central Bank: What is T2? (T2 opening hours)
- European Central Bank: Benefits of SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst)
- Deutsche Bundesbank: Procedural rules for SEPA credit transfers via the RPS SEPA-Clearer, 2026
- European Central Bank: What are instant payments?
- European Central Bank: TARGET Systems operating schedule – euro