The name is Latin for bridges. That is exactly what it is, and nothing more: a bridge between two worlds that until now did not pay each other in the same money.
On one side are the platforms where bonds and other securities live as digital records in a distributed ledger. On the other is the safest payment in Europe - central bank money. Until now those platforms had no access to the central bank's risk-free settlement, and participants in the 2024 tests said access to it was crucial for the wider adoption of the technology.
Fact
The facts: on 21 September 2026 the Eurosystem launched Pontes - a solution for settling wholesale transactions in tokenised assets, recorded on distributed ledger technology (DLT), in central bank money. Pontes is the first step of the Eurosystem's strategy for tokenised finance and builds on its 2024 tests. The first group, which has completed onboarding and can use the system immediately, includes ABANCA, BayernLB, CDC, Cecabank, Deutsche Bank, Deka Bank, DZ Bank, the European Investment Bank, KfW, Memo Bank, NRW.BANK, Santander and Société Générale, along with the operators Axiology, Cashlink, Clearstream and SWIAT; the Bundesbank has also onboarded as a participant. Enhanced features and longer operating hours will be introduced gradually, with full implementation expected by 2028. The same day the ECB announced preparatory work to invest a small part of its own funds in tokenised euro-denominated securities issued by euro area governments, regions, agencies and supranational institutions, settling through Pontes; the Executive Board will set the timing.
Why the ECB is buying itself
That is the more interesting of the two documents. A central bank that launches infrastructure and immediately says it will use it with its own money is testing it on its own back. The goal, in the ECB's words, is practical experience as an investor.
A new rail proves itself when its owner loads their own freight on it.
For someone in Bulgaria all this is far away. Pontes is for banks and wholesale markets, not for sending money to a friend. But the direction comes from the ECB itself: making central bank money fit for a tokenised future.
The full picture will show around 2028, when it becomes clear how many deals actually go through here and how many still take the old road.
Sources
ECB - Eurosystem brings central bank money to tokenised finance, 21.09.2026ECB - ECB to invest part of own funds in tokenised securities, with settlement via Pontes, 21.09.2026The visual is generated code-art, no third-party images.