Most T+1 conversations focus on 11 October 2027, the day the EU, the UK and Switzerland move to one-day settlement. For EU investment firms and their professional clients, the first binding deadline is much closer: the new rules on allocations and confirmations apply from 7 December 2026.
What changes, and when
In the EU, ESMA confirms that the switch to T+1 settlement takes place on 11 October 2027, and that the first deadline, for investment firms and their clients to comply with the new requirements on allocations and confirmations, is 7 December 2026.
The Commission's delegated regulation amending the settlement discipline standards requires professional clients to ensure the investment firm receives written allocations and confirmations as soon as possible, and no later than 23:00 CET on the business day the transaction took place. It applies in phases: from 7 December 2026, from 1 July 2027 and from 11 October 2027.
ESMA's statement on T+1 preparations sets out the two main milestones:
- By 7 December 2026: timely exchange of allocations and confirmations after execution, using internationally recognised electronic communication standards by default.
- By 11 October 2027: settlement instructions sent well before the intended settlement date, and use of functions such as auto-partial settlement, hold and release, and auto-collateralisation where applicable.
In the UK, the FCA expects firms to be making their system and process changes now and to be ready to test them by the end of 2026. The FCA also notes that the Accelerated Settlement Taskforce expects many critical recommendations to be in place by the end of December 2026, including allocation and confirmation by the end of trade date, and adoption of the FMSB standard for sharing standard settlement instructions. Switzerland moves on the same date.
Why T+1 is a workflow problem, not a settlement problem
Settlement is the last step. T+1 compresses everything upstream of it: trade capture, allocation, confirmation, standing settlement instructions, FX funding, stock-lending recalls and exception handling. A process that works today because there is an extra day to fix things is likely to fail quietly under T+1, usually in the manual tail: the small share of trades that need a person to intervene.
That is why T+1 is best treated as a front-to-back workflow programme, with trading, operations, technology and service providers working to one plan.
What we would test first
- Allocation timing on trade date. Measure the real time from execution to allocation by client, broker and asset class. Find the trades that miss the cut-off, and why.
- Confirmation formats. Check that confirmations are machine-readable and use recognised standards by default, not email and spreadsheets.
- Standing settlement instructions. Confirm that SSIs are complete, current and shared in a standard format.
- FX and funding. Identify cross-currency trades that now need FX arranged on trade date.
- Securities lending. Check that recalls are triggered as soon as lent securities are sold.
- The late-evening exception desk. Decide who resolves breaks after the trade-date cut-off, and whether operating hours or locations need to change.
- Outsourced providers. Get evidence of each provider's readiness and test dates. The responsibility remains yours.
- Test plans. Align internal testing with the industry testing timetable rather than discovering problems in the final months.
Where QTC helps
QTC runs T+1 readiness as a programme: Business Analysis maps the current front-to-back flow and the gaps, Project Management drives the plan and the test evidence, and Technical Expertise assesses or delivers the system changes. If you are not sure where you stand, an assessment is the quickest way to find out.
This article is general information, not legal, regulatory or investment advice. Regulatory, compliance and tax matters should be confirmed with qualified advisers; QTC coordinates these workstreams with specialist partners.