BORICA boosts Bulgaria’s instant payments interoperability with Montran’s TIPS Module

By Puja Sharma

BORICA, the Bulgarian national payment operator, has successfully launched a TIPS (TARGET Instant Payment Settlement) connectivity module developed by Montran. This solution enables Bulgarian banks to access TIPS, the ECB’s instant payments service, integrating with Bulgaria’s BISERA. The current local instant payments service, Blink, is now expanded over the SCT Inst payment scheme in Euro for local and SEPA area payments.

BORICA sought a comprehensive, future-ready solution to connect its member banks to TIPS while enhancing liquidity management capabilities. Montran, building on its existing Instant Payments platform at BORICA, delivered a tailored enhancement featuring two prefunding modules: one for TIPS, supporting international reachability, and another for EURO INST, servicing national transfers. These modules empower banks to manage their liquidity positions across both systems via unified interfaces, offering flexibility to initiate funding or defunding.

“With Montran’s solution, we can now provide our member banks with a streamlined, efficient way to access TIPS for instant payments,” said Vania Ganeva, Head of Payment Services at BORICA. “The enhanced liquidity management tools allow banks to optimize their positions across TIPS and EURO INST, ensuring operational efficiency and compliance with European standards.”

Keith Esca, Global Sales Director at Montran, also added, “Our collaboration with BORICA exemplifies Montran’s commitment to delivering tailored solutions that address specific market needs. The successful go-live of this TIPS connectivity module highlights the strength of our partnership in driving innovation, enabling instant payments, and supporting SEPA compliance for Bulgarian banks.”

Following rigorous testing, the TIPS connectivity module is now operational, aligning Bulgaria’s payments infrastructure with the latest European standards for instant payments and settlement. This milestone marks a significant step forward in advancing the efficiency and cross-border interoperability of the country’s payment systems.