This long Easter weekend 2026 isn’t just about chocolate and bells: on the financial side, classic interbank transfers are also taking a break. As every year at this time, money transfers between two different banks are suspended from a Thursday, April 2 evening until Tuesday, April 7 at noon at the latest. A detail not to overlook if you have rent, alimony, or an urgent reimbursement to process in the coming days.
Behind this interruption lies a system little known to the general public: TARGET2, the European interbank settlement platform operated by the European Central Bank. It is the backbone for secure funds transfers between institutions in the euro area. This system shuts down on weekends and certain holidays, notably around Easter, from Friday, April 3 to Monday, April 6, 2026 inclusive. The Easter period indeed combines two consecutive holidays, Good Friday and Easter Monday, making it the longest banking outage of the year.
Only the classic SEPA transfers, i.e., those that reach the recipient's account within 24 to 48 hours, are affected. The interruption of standard interbank transfers begins on the evening of Thursday, April 2, depending on each bank's cutoff time, at 6:00 p.m. at the latest. Processing resumes on Tuesday, April 7, no later than 12:30 p.m. In practical terms, this includes rents, salaries paid by a company, reimbursements between individuals via an IBAN different from their own bank. Regular payments like rents, salaries, and pensions will also not go through during this period.
Good news: this temporary suspension does not affect all types of transfers. Internal transfers, when the sender and recipient hold accounts at the same bank, are functioning normally. Likewise, the instant transfer services remain operational, accessible seven days a week, 24 hours a day. Since January 9, 2025, instant transfers are free at all French banks.
If you absolutely must make a transfer during this period, several options are available. The instant transfer remains the simplest and most direct: it lets you send money account to account in under 10 seconds, 24/7, year-round. It is wise to check in advance the limits set by your bank, as some institutions apply stricter caps for instant transfers than for standard transfers.
Another convenient option: peer-to-peer payment apps like Wero, Paylib’s successor, integrated directly into many French banks’ interfaces. These services run on a phone number or email address, require no IBAN, and stay usable even when the interbank system is down. They’re particularly handy for reimbursing friends or splitting expenses, though there are caps in place.
In 2026, TARGET2 will close around Easter, from Friday, April 3 to Monday, April 6 inclusive, and also on Friday, May 1 and Friday, December 25. The systems will be open on all other public holidays. The smart move is to plan ahead: if you have a large transfer to submit, schedule it for Wednesday, April 1 or Thursday, April 2 morning, before your bank’s cutoff time.
For all official information, you can check the French Banking Federation’s website or Service-Public.fr, which lays out the steps to follow depending on your situation.
Dates and Opening Time
From April 2, 2026 to April 7, 2026
