The article has been updated.
BRUSSELS – On Thursday, Montenegro and Albania became the first-ever enlargement countries to join the geographical scope of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) following the green light by the European Payments Council (EPC).
According to the statement of the EPC, adherence of Montenegrin and Albanian financial institutions to the SEPA payment schemes, according to the EPC calendar, will be enabled starting from April 2025
In its own statement released on this occasion, the European Commission stressed that this is a practical example of the impact of the Growth Plan, an EU initiative to accelerate the socio-economic integration of the Western Balkans into the EU.
“This step paves the way for the facilitation of financial transfers in euros and the reduction of the cost of these transactions between the two countries and other SEPA members. The European Commission… will continue to support the preparation of Montenegro and Albania’s payments service providers, as well as the other Western Balkan countries aiming to join the geographical scope of SEPA in the near future”, the statement reads.
In a post on X, Gert Jan Koopman said that private banks can now make the needed preparations for citizens to feel the benefits starting in 2025.
Great to see #Montenegro & #Albania join the geographic scope of #SEPA, as first ever enlargement countries. Our #GrowthPlan is delivering!
Private banks can now make the needed preparations for citizens to feel the benefits starting in 2025!
https://t.co/V5k4dJk9xu pic.twitter.com/DB2m8AZyBc
— Gert Jan Koopman (@GertJanEU) November 21, 2024
The Central Bank of Montenegro stated on Thursday that the country has “made significant efforts to harmonize national payment system and current regulations with EU standards, and, as a result, it became the first Western Balkan country to join SEPA area, fulfilling one of the key goals on its path to membership in the European Union”.
It was clarified that, according to the European Payments Council (EPC) calendar, the start of accession of Montenegrin financial institutions to SEPA payment schemes is scheduled for April 2025, while EPC will subsequently inform about the date of operational start of provision of services for payment service providers from Montenegro.
“The accession of Montenegro to SEPA represents a significant milestone in the process of financial integration of our country into the European Union. This step opens up economic opportunities and brings visible benefits for the Montenegrin population and economy on Montenegro’s accelerated path towards EU membership”, said Irena Radović, Governor of the Central Bank of Montenegro.
The Governor of the Bank of Albania, Gent Sejko released a statement saying that the entry of Albania into the SEPA geographical scope marks a historic milestone for Albania, reflecting years of dedicated effort.
“Inclusion in SEPA will impact the financial and economic development of Albania, contributing to its further integration with the EU market”, Sejko said.
“The conduction of transfers through SEPA, will drive costs of cross-border Euro payments with its member countries to be 5 times lower at a minimum. Our preliminary assessments show that savings for the Albanian economy could amount at least EUR 20 million in the first year, to increase progressively in the next years”, the Governor of the Bank of Albania said.
The Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) is a pan-European initiative, launched in 2008 to simplify, accelerate and harmonize electronic payments while reducing costs as much as possible. The initiative was primarily designed for the European Union market, but the SEPA area now has a total of 36 countries, not just all EU member states.
The backbone of SEPA is a set of rules and standards for making cashless payments. In order for a country to join SEPA, it must comply legally and technically with the regulations of the European Union in the domain of payment systems, and a very important role in such a process is played by national banks, which, on behalf of the countries, submit applications for accession of SEPA.