T+1: The catalyst for a new era in post-trade operations

The Catalyst for Post-Trade Transformation

The UK’s shift to T+1 settlement, as outlined in the FCA’s recent communication to compliance officers, marks far more than a regulatory compliance deadline. It represents a watershed moment for financial institutions to modernise operations, strengthen data control, and unlock competitive advantage through automation and innovation.

Building the Future of Settlement in a T+1 World

At Gresham, we see T+1 as a catalyst for transformation, not an administrative burden. It’s an opportunity to rethink the way firms operate, from trade capture to settlement.

• Operational discipline will define the winners. With just one business day between trade and settlement, firms can no longer rely on manual processes or fragmented systems. Success will depend on the ability to reconcile, confirm, and instruct in real-time.

• Data integrity becomes mission-critical. The margin for error is vanishing. Firms must have total confidence in the accuracy and timeliness of their trade, position, and cash data. That’s where Gresham's Control Cloud and reconciliation expertise play a central role; ensuring that data flows seamlessly and accurately across systems.

• The time to act is now. The FCA’s message is clear: waiting until 2026 is too late. Early planning and investment are essential to mitigate operational risk, meet testing milestones, and avoid the costly scramble seen in other markets’ transitions.

Gresham remains committed to helping our clients and the wider market achieve a smooth, efficient, and future-ready transition to T+1 settlement.

Turning Commitment into Action

We’re already working with clients, partners, and infrastructure providers to make T+1 readiness tangible:

• Mapping and modernising post-trade workflows to eliminate manual touchpoints and bottlenecks.

• Enhancing reconciliation and data-integrity frameworks to provide real-time visibility into positions and cash.

• Supporting readiness assessments and test cycles in line with FCA milestones: planning by end-2025, implementation by end-2026, and market testing through 2027.

• Collaborating with market bodies, including the AST and key custodians, to promote interoperability and best-practice adoption.

We encourage firms to engage early with settlement agents, custodians, and technology partners to secure the funding, automation, and testing capacity needed well ahead of 2027.

Beyond the Box-Ticking Exercise

The industry doesn’t need another reminder that T+1 is important, it needs honesty about readiness.

The FCA’s recent letter reflects a sobering reality: despite a year of observing the U.S. transition, many UK firms haven’t started preparing. The message couldn’t be clearer: the clock is ticking, and reactive strategies won’t cut it.

Firms should avoid the temptation to:

• Assume they can simply “work faster” within existing processes.

• Rely on additional headcount to compensate for structural inefficiencies.

• Wait to see how peers or competitors respond before acting.

• Expect that current vendors or legacy systems will manage the transition automatically.

• Underestimate the timeline. 2027 will arrive far sooner than it seems.

T+1 success demands more than speed. It requires structural change, cultural commitment, and investment in automation and control. It’s a chance to reimagine post-trade operations for a faster, more transparent market.

Conclusion

The transition to T+1 is not just another regulatory hurdle, it’s a defining moment for how financial institutions will operate in the years ahead. Those that treat it as a compliance exercise will meet the letter of the regulation but miss the spirit of transformation that underpins it.

True readiness means rethinking the fundamentals: how data flows through the organisation, how exceptions are detected and resolved, and how teams collaborate across front, middle, and back office functions. It requires confidence in every trade, every position, and every cash movement in real time.

The firms that succeed won’t simply meet deadlines - they’ll emerge stronger, faster, and more resilient. They’ll have modernised infrastructures capable of supporting T+0, real-time settlement, and the next generation of digital assets and global market evolution.

At Gresham, we see this as an opportunity to lead the market toward operational excellence. With our trusted data control and reconciliation solutions, we are helping firms build the foundation for continuous assurance, automation, and scalability - not just for 2027, but for the future of finance.