UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce Quarterly Review – Q2 2026

As we reach the halfway point of 2026, the UK’s transition to T+1 moves inexorably closer. During the past quarter, the Taskforce has focused on providing greater clarity for market participants as we move beyond planning and into implementation.

With around 15 months until the UK’s move to T+1 on 11 October 2027, the message remains consistent: the market has made encouraging progress, but it is absolutely essential that plans turn into delivery. Firms should ensure that their programmes are fully funded, key dependencies are being addressed, and preparations are progressing towards being ready to test in early 2027.

Market readiness continues to improve

One of the highlights of the quarter was the publication of the latest UK T+1 Market Readiness Survey.

The results provide encouraging evidence that the industry continues to move in the right direction. Eighty-three per cent of firms are now actively engaged in their T+1 programmes, compared with 66% in Q3 2025. At a comparable stage in its transition, the US market reported a lower level of engagement, demonstrating the positive progress being made across the UK market.

The survey also found that:

• 90% of firms expect to have scoped and funded their T+1 programmes by the end of 2026.
• 78% of financial market infrastructures expect to be ready for industry testing during the recommended Q1 2027 testing window.
• More firms are automating settlement instruction processing, although further progress is required across the market.
• Preparation has advanced across both the buy side and sell side, but areas such as settlement exceptions, FX and funding arrangements still require continued attention.
• A worrying 17% of respondents have effectively not started their compliance projects.

While these findings are largely encouraging, they should not lead to complacency. As implementation accelerates, firms should ensure that they remain focused on delivering the operational changes necessary to support a successful transition.

You can download the full report here.

Providing certainty on the settlement rate target

During the quarter, the Taskforce also confirmed how the post-transition settlement rate target will be measured.

Following industry engagement, we announced that the target settlement rate after the UK’s move to T+1 will be based on the average CREST settlement rate achieved during the three months immediately preceding implementation (July, August and September 2027).

This approach reflects one of the key principles established in the Taskforce’s Final Report: that market expectations should be grounded in actual market performance rather than an arbitrary or theoretical benchmark.

Importantly, beginning in 2027, the Taskforce will also begin publishing the UK rolling three-month average settlement rates. This will provide firms with a transparent benchmark ahead of implementation, enabling participants to assess their own performance against wider market outcomes and identify areas requiring further improvement.

Settlement efficiency will remain one of the key indicators of the success of the UK’s transition to T+1, and firms should be investing in automation and operational resilience to support high settlement performance.

A reminder of the 2026 implementation milestones

This quarter I also wrote to market participants to highlight the key recommendations within the Implementation Plan that are expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

With the transition now around 15 months away, it is important that firms maintain momentum and continue working towards these milestones. Completing the recommendations due by the end of 2026 will be an important foundation for a successful transition.

As we move towards the recommended industry testing window in Q1 2027, firms should now be shifting from programme design into execution, ensuring that internal processes, technology changes and operational readiness are delivered on schedule

The letter, which includes the recommendations expected to be completed this year, can be found here.

Looking ahead

I may sound like a broken record, but the coming months will be critical as firms should be completing their implementation activities, preparing for testing and ensuring that the relevant operational changes become embedded across their organisations.

The UK remains well positioned to deliver a successful transition to T+1, but achieving that outcome will depend upon continued collaboration, disciplined execution and sustained commitment from all participants across the market.

I would like to thank everyone across the industry who has engaged and contributed to the UK’s T+1 transition. We are almost there!

Andrew Douglas

Chair, UK Accelerated Settlement Taskforce