By Tony Gangemi, Senior Product Manager, Iress
T+1: infrastructure under pressure
The global shift to T+1 settlement is more than a compliance milestone – it’s a litmus test for infrastructure resilience, operational agility, and data-driven decision-making.
While Australia’s transition may be years away, the time to act is now. That’s especially the case for those firms already living the T+1 reality through international trading operations, navigating compressed timelines and cross-border complexities as global markets accelerate towards faster settlement cycles.
India completed its phased rollout of T+1 in 2023. North America followed in May 2024 with the United Kingdom, the European Union and others targeting 2027.
Lessons from the US
The US transition was broadly successful, with 95 per cent of trades affirmed on day two.[1]
But behind the headline numbers, operational cracks appeared.
Time zone compression shrank processing windows by up to 80 per cent, forcing firms into manual workarounds.[2]
Staffing costs spiked – some by 18 per cent – as firms threw people at problems that technology should solve.[3]
Late settlement rates rose, especially in Asia Pacific trades with the US.[4]
So, the North American experience serves as a vital, if expensive, lesson: T+1 is fundamentally a technological imperative, demanding end-to-end straight-through processing (STP) because manual processes aren’t just inefficient – they’re expensive and risky.
Automation is the foundation of resilience. This is why platforms such as MyIress, Iress FIX Hub and Iress Data Insights are engineered to eliminate friction, reduce settlement risk and provide real-time control across the trade lifecycle.
The European warning
If the US transition was a sprint, the upcoming UK and EU shift to T+1 in October 2027 is a marathon through tricky terrain.
Europe faces a daunting task, coordinating T+1 across 27 EU jurisdictions, more than 30 central securities depositories (CSDs) and various legal and tax regimes.
Preparation budgets reflect the scale of the task. It’s estimated that a large global custodian may invest up to US$36 million to prepare for T+1, more than double the $13.3 million average spent for the North American transition.[5]
And the stakes are higher. Under the EU’s Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR), failed trades incur mandatory cash penalties. With T+1 increasing failure risk – especially for cross-border trades and non-EU ETFs holding US assets – automation isn’t optional, it’s survival.
Europe’s challenges underscore the non-negotiable requirement for high-speed, end-to-end automation.
This operational standard is what Australian firms must meet today to manage cross-border risks, and tomorrow to implement a domestic T+1 cycle.
Iress FIX Hub supports this standard through real-time monitoring, diagnostics and configurable rules that detect and manage exceptions across the trade lifecycle before they disrupt execution.
Meanwhile, Iress Data Insights will add anomaly detection, reconciliation and proactive alerts that shift firms from reactive correction to proactive control.
Australia’s strategic advantage
Australia’s timeline, with T+1 is not due until at least 12 months after the CHESS replacement that’s planned to go live in Q1 2029. This offers a rare opportunity to gain a strategic advantage.
The imperative is clear: focus now on four core areas to manage current risks and prepare for what’s around the corner:
- Simplify operations Drive workflow efficiency through modular, interoperable architecture built on FDC3 and open APIs. MyIress and Iress FIX Hub enable faster configuration, fewer handoffs, and smoother collaboration across trading, operations, and compliance.
- Execute a data strategy Global investors expect real-time visibility and predictive control, not just end-of-day reporting. Transparency is now a competitive edge. With Iress Data Insights and Iress FIX Hub, Iress gives brokers the ability to anticipate risk. Exception handling becomes predictive, resolving trade mismatches before they cascade. This is the level of visibility global investors already expect.
- Solve the FX problem T+1 compresses currency settlement windows. Iress FIX Hub enables reliable, scalable connectivity across brokers, custodians, and markets – removing bottlenecks and enabling pre-funding or automated FX strategies.
- Pressure test your systems Use global lessons to validate systems now. Our cloud-native, interoperable architecture is designed for resilience – supporting early allocation, real-time reconciliation and continuous trading.
T+1 is just the beginning
At Iress, we see T+1 not as a finish line, but a foundation. The future is T+0, 24/5 global markets and tokenised assets. These shifts will demand real-time reconciliation, modular workflows, and truly interoperable platforms.
MyIress is already built for this evolution. It’s zero-install, scalable and designed to support new asset classes. Iress FIX Hub offers global reach with five hubs and cloud-native connectivity. Iress Data Insights moves firms from reactive issue management to proactive, data-driven risk management.
The T+1 era is a reminder: resilience, not just readiness, sets firms apart. Firms that act now won’t just meet compliance – they’ll lead the next era of market infrastructure.
[1] Affirmation rates reach nearly 95% on double-settlement day at DTCC
[2] Understanding T+1 settlement | Swift
[3] The rush to settle: inside the real cost of going T+1 | PostTrade 360°
[4] What we’re learning along the way | Swift
[5] Tackling Post-Trade Friction – Firebrand Research
