CENTROlink

SEPA payment system

CENTROlink is a payment system operated by the Bank of Lithuania, providing the gateway to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Via its infrastructure, the Bank of Lithuania provides technical access to SEPA for all types of payment service providers (PSPs) – banks, specialized banks, credit unions, electronic money or payment institutions – licensed in the European Economic Area (EEA).

CENTROlink

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About CENTROlink

CENTROlink is a retail payment system, developed and operated by the Bank of Lithuania, which allows customers of financial institutions to execute euro payments swiftly and inexpensively. PSPs participating in the CENTROlink can offer their clients all SEPA payment services: credit transfers (SCT), direct debit transfers (SDD Core) and instant payments (SCT Inst). More information on how CENTROlink operates, acceptance of PSPs, their rights and obligations, payment orders processing procedure as well as risk management is available in the Operating Rules of CENTROlink (530.5 KB download icon) and Regulations on the Conclusion of the ABIC Agreement (375.2 KB download icon).

CENTROlink payment system is linked to the main European SEPA instant payment systems RT1 and TARGET Instant Payment System (TIPS), enabling financial institutions operating within the system to provide a one-stop shop for SEPA credit transfers and direct debits as well as for instant payments.

Main objectives of the instant payment service:

Operational security
24/7/365 availability
Convenience – in combination with other SEPA schemes

Indicator	2020	2021	2022	2023
Number of payment service providers	136	149	148	143
Number of instant payment service providers	26	47	64	65
Number of PSPs from different EEA countries	14	18	19	19
Number of payments, million	95.2	186.1	276.3	228.3
Number of instant payments, million	17.1	63.4	128.1	125.4
Payments outside the system, million	15.9	52.0	108.4	116.3
Internal payments, million	1.2	11.4	19.7	9.1
Instant payments as a percentage of total SEPA payments (SCT, SDD Core, SCT Inst), %	18	34	46	55
CENTROlink availability, %	99.0	99.0	99.6	99.6

Priorities for the development of the instant payments service:

Direct link to the European Central Bank’s TIPS payment platform.
Fast and convenient payments by initiating payments based on the payee’s mobile phone number, using a Proxy Lookup Service.
Supplementing CENTROlink infrastructure services with a new request-to-pay processing functionality.
Introduction of new functionalities using modern technologies.

System direct participants and ABIC holders

21 direct participants

PSP type	Number	License country
PSP type	Number	LT	MT	BG	NO
Credit institutions	18	15	1	1	1
Central bank	1
General government	1
Clearing and settlement organisations	1

122 addressable BIC holders

PSP type	Number	License country
PSP type	Number	LT	UK	MT	CY	IE	BG	EE	CZ	FR	SE	NL	BE	ES	PL	FI	GR	DE	SK
Electronic money institutions	92	57	12	5	4	3	3		1	3	1	1	1	1
Payment institutions	30	4	5	2	2	1		4	3		1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

Note: Data as of 31-12-2023

Benefits of participating in the system

CENTROlink is the payment system managed by the central bank, which offers a wide range of SEPA scheme services: credit transfers, direct debit transfers and instant payments.
CENTROlink has links with the European payment systems STEP2, RT1 and TIPS, thus a PSP participating in CENTROlink gains access to the European payment systems without any additional expenses.
Independence from intermediaries: PSPs open IBAN accounts in their own systems from which they initiate payments by themselves.
All eligible PSPs – banks, specialized banks, credit unions, electronic money and payment institutions licenced in SEPA/EEA – can apply for CENTROlink connection.
There is no credit risk involved as payments are made using accounts opened with the central bank.
CENTROlink payment system does not impose additional limits on payment values, number of payments and number of issued IBAN accounts.
Automated liquidity management and access to its management during TARGET2 business hours.
An option to open customer deposit accounts and keep more funds than it is required to make payments.
As the system is built on a dual infrastructure model, the continuity of the system is ensured even under critical conditions.
PSPs have several connectivity options, including a secure internet connection.
A flexible process for joining CENTROlink, taking into account the individual readiness to join for each PSP.
Only trusted PSPs are eligible to join, following a thorough inspection based on the Know your Customer (KYC) and risk assessment process.
A simple fee structure and competitive rates.
A possibility to connect to the Bank of Lithuania’s Proxy Lookup Service. This service allows instant payments to be initiated based on the mobile phone number of a payee.

More information is available here.

How to get access

The main steps for connecting to the Bank of Lithuania payment system CENTROlink:

Meeting	Questionnaire	Risk assessment	NDA	Certificates	Testing	Agreement	Start of Payments
Introduction meeting between the PSP and the CENTROlink representatives, presentation of the PSP business model and company needs, discussion about potential business relationship	Completion and submission of the KYC questionnaire and supporting documents to the Bank of Lithuania	Assessment of the PSP KYC information based on the KYC and risk assessment process and the final decision if PSP is offered to sign a non-disclosure agreement	Signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between the PSP and the Bank of Lithuania. Granting access to CENTROlink technical documentation and submission of a request to connect to the system	Signing of the certification agreement and issuance of CENTROlink system access certificates to PSP representatives	PSP registration in CENTROlink and external payment system testing environments, performance of testing procedures, submission of a testing report to the Bank of Lithuania	Additional internal KYC update. Signing of the CENTROlink participation agreement between the PSP and the Bank of Lithuania	PSP registration in payment systems for the agreed Go-live date

Meeting

Questionnaire

Risk assessment

NDA

Certificates

Testing

Agreement

CENTROlink

Start of Payments

Introduction meeting between the PSP and the CENTROlink representatives, presentation of the PSP business model and company needs, discussion about potential business relationship

Completion and submission of the KYC questionnaire and supporting documents to the Bank of Lithuania

Assessment of the PSP KYC information based on the KYC and risk assessment process and the final decision if PSP is offered to sign a non-disclosure agreement

Signing of a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) between the PSP and the Bank of Lithuania. Granting access to CENTROlink technical documentation and submission of a request to connect to the system

Signing of the certification agreement and issuance of CENTROlink system access certificates to PSP representatives

PSP registration in CENTROlink and external payment system testing environments, performance of testing procedures, submission of a testing report to the Bank of Lithuania

Additional internal KYC update. Signing of the CENTROlink participation agreement between the PSP and the Bank of Lithuania

PSP registration in payment systems for the agreed Go-live date

Proxy Lookup Service

The Bank of Lithuania’s Proxy Lookup Service (PLS) allows participating PSPs to initiate payments (SCT and SCT Inst) using payee’s mobile phone number. To use the alias payment service, the user must give their consent in the bank’s mobile app to link their phone number to the selected IBAN account. To transfer money, the user simply needs to select the payee from their contact list in the mobile app or enter the payee’s phone number. A transfer is possible if the payee has also linked their phone number to an IBAN account.