Skopje, 11 July 2024 

The National Bank, in the capacity of a regulatory and supervisory institution for the payment service providers in the country, submitted a formal request for the country's accession to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which represents a key step forward for the further development and integration of the domestic financial system in the European economic area. The country's membership in SEPA will bring numerous benefits to citizens, companies and the economy as a whole, by ensuring faster, more efficient and cheaper payments in euros to and from SEPA member countries, simplification of procedures, greater transparency and enhanced consumer protection.  

The Governor of the National Bank, Anita Angelovska Bezhoska, who signed the request, emphasized that the advantages of joining SEPA for citizens and companies are significant, considering that the majority of payments with other countries (or abroad) are made in euros. "Last year, 87% of the total outflow payments, that is, 77% of the total inflow payments with abroad at domestic banks were made in euros," Angelovska Bezhoska said, emphasizing that the payment efficiency in SEPA will also contribute to reduce the use of cash, prioritizing the use of digital payment methods and supporting the transition to a digital society.

SEPA brings multiple benefits to citizens, the economy and payment service providers. Citizens will be able to receive and send money in euros in the SEPA countries in more cheap, fast and simple manner. Companies will be able to more easily engage in cross-border trade in goods and services in the SEPA countries, expand their business and increase competitiveness. For them, the accessing also means lower fees, as well as improved cash flow management, considering that SEPA transfers are usually processed within one business day, and with instant payments, the transfer of funds will be carried out in 10 seconds at most, in any time during the day, i.e. within normal working hours, but also outside working hours, as well as on weekends and holidays (24 hours a week). With the access to SEPA, the domestic payment service providers will have the opportunity to participate in payment systems (payment schemes) in the SEPA area, which will ensure direct relations with many foreign payment service providers and reduce their costs arising from correspondent banking, which will contribute to faster and cheaper payments in euros for citizens and companies in the country.

The intensive activities undertaken in the past few years aimed at harmonizing the domestic legal framework in the payment sphere with the European Union law, created a basis for starting the process for the integration of the country in SEPA, before joining the EU. The documentation for submitting a request to SEPA is the result of the joint effort of the National Bank and several ministries and institutions, as well as the Macedonian Banking Association. This joint effort highlights the commitment of our country to harmonize the national legislation and its application with the standards of SEPA, equalizing it with them in in terms of legality and functionality.

The process of preparing the request started within the framework of the Western Balkans Payment Modernization Project, as part of the Western Balkans Growth Plan, financed by the EU and resulting from the Berlin initiative to create a common regional market. It was technically supported by the long-standing and important partner of the National Bank in the field of payments, the World Bank.