SEPA transfers, the nearest date for Albanian banks is October 5, 2025

2024-12-20 10:30:00, Ekonomi CNA

The nearest date for the initiation of actions in the SEPA system by banks and payment institutions in Albania is October 5, 2025.

At the meeting of the National Committee of the Payment System that took place this month at the Bank of Albania, the expected steps and deadlines that will be needed by Albanian payment institutions to join and start operations in SEPA were also presented.

According to experts' explanations, payment service providers from Albania can join SEPA starting in April 2025. However, there is an intermediate period between membership and full operational readiness or the possibility to carry out transfers through SEPA systems.

As a rule, scheme applicants can submit their applications and be included in the Register of Scheme Participants up to 6 months before the anticipated date of operational readiness.

However, the exact date of operational readiness will need to be determined by each payment service provider, along with the chosen payment clearing and settlement mechanism.

SEPA acceptance criteria are specific to each scheme, but essentially all require at least the fulfillment of certain minimum criteria, such as having a license to provide payment services from the relevant country's regulatory authority, the ability and capacity to meet the requirements related to the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing, criteria related to risk management and capitalization, solvency and liquidity requirements.

The SEPA payment schemes are Credit Transfers (SCT), Instant Credit Transfers (SCT instant) and Direct Debit (SDD). The first two schemes enable transfers between customer accounts in member payment institutions. The difference between them is that in the credit transfer scheme the transfers are executed within one working day, while in the instant credit transfer scheme they are executed within a few seconds.

The direct debit scheme enables businesses to directly collect utility bills or periodic payments automatically from the customer's account, with his approval.

Albania was officially admitted to the Single European Payments Area SEPA on 21 November 2024, becoming, together with Montenegro, the first two countries in the Western Balkans region to officially join the scheme.

According to the analyzes carried out by the World Bank, currently a payment from Albania to the SEPA area today costs almost 10 times more than a payment within the SEPA area. The transfer takes several working days, while with SEPA membership it is expected that the money will be transferred to the beneficiary's account within a maximum of one working day.

According to the Bank of Albania, in the first year of participation in SEPA alone, the Albanian economy is expected to save around 20 million euros. From the point of view of financial stability, participation in SEPA offers a way to adopt more modern, safer and more efficient electronic payment systems.

Participation in SEPA is estimated to have a significant contribution to strategic sectors such as tourism and to increasing flows related to foreign direct investment. The reduction of transfer costs in euros is expected to affect the formalization of remittance flows.

The facilitation of making cross-border payments with Albania's main trading partner, the European Union, is expected to enable the further expansion of trade relations./ Monitor Magazine