On 10 April 2025, the Bank of Albania and the Albanian Association of Banks submitted to the European Payments Council (EPC) the applications pack of banks for Adherence to the SEPA Credit Transfer scheme.
„All 11 banks of the Albanian banking system individually prepared their respective applications within a relatively short period of time, aimed at carrying out the first SEPA cross-border transactions at the beginning of October 2025. This is the earliest deadline set by the EPC, when payment service providers (PSPs) from Albania can begin processing these cross-border transactions denominated in euro via SEPA.” – according to the press release.
On 21 November 2024, the EPC has approved the inclusion of Albania in the geographical scope of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) payment schemes, while the application for adherence of financial institutions to the SEPA payment schemes, starting from April 2025.
Over the course of this period, the Bank of Albania, in collaboration with the Albanian Association of Banks, have intensively guided the banks throughout the application process, serving as the National Support Centre in the Adherence Process. To this end, the Bank of Albania organized several workshops with experts from the World Bank to clarify the requirements and criteria for the application of each institution, as well as to provide guidance on fulfilling them. In addition, the Bank of Albania has developed ongoing contacts with the EPC and the banking community to address any identified gaps and to encourage all banks to apply for adherence to the SEPA schemes.
Participation into the SEPA payments schemes brings significant benefits for Albanian consumers and businesses in terms of transfer costs and the expansion of economic activity.
The Bank of Albania will continue to support banks in finalizing the technical adjustments, enabling them to ensure cheaper cross-border transactions for Albanian citizens at the earliest moment.
Banking 4.0 – „how was the experience for you”
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Many more interesting quotes in the video below:
