Euroclear and HSBC will launch AutoFX, an automated FX service integrated into cross-border settlement ahead of T+1 in Europe and the UK.
The solution folds clients' currency execution into the settlement process, sourcing the necessary currency automatically in an effort to limit operational exposure and reinforce settlement reliability.
Euroclear, a Belgium-based post-trade infrastructure provider, and HSBC, a UK-based bank, describe the collaboration as a way to connect Euroclear's settlement network with HSBC's FX pricing, conversion, and liquidity capabilities.
Service capabilities and timeline
According to the companies, AutoFX will provide clients with an execution dashboard offering real-time visibility over currency activity, along with access to intraday FX fixing points designed to match settlement schedules across different time zones. In addition, the service is also intended to bring transparent pricing and liquidity optimisation tools aimed at reducing excess funding requirements ahead of settlement. AutoFX is scheduled to become available in early 2027, ahead of the October 2027 T+1 transition date.
Sebastien Danloy, chief business officer at Euroclear, describes that the partnership with HSBC extends Euroclear's settlement offering with integrated FX services intended to help clients adapt to a faster settlement environment.
Addressing the shift to T+1 and market context
Europe and the UK are expected to move to T+1 settlement in October 2027, shortening the interval between trade execution and settlement. The change is intended to improve market efficiency, cutting counterparty exposure and strengthening resilience across post-trade processes. However, the compressed settlement window will require market participants to complete funding, liquidity, and FX activities within a shorter timeframe, increasing pressure on firms to automate parts of the settlement chain that have traditionally relied on manual processing.
AutoFX is positioned as a response to this requirement. At launch, the service will support FX conversion and execution for more than 30 currencies, integrated directly into the securities settlement process. Euroclear has said this will allow clients to manage cross-currency transactions without handling the FX component as a separate, disconnected step.
The shift to T+1 in Europe is expected to be challenging given Europe's market structure, considerably more fragmented than the US one, spanning multiple trading venues, currencies, central counterparties (CCPs), central securities depositories (CSDs), regulators, and legal and fiscal regimes that all need to be aligned.
