Skopje, 31 March 2023 

“The application of the new innovative technological solutions in payment has been present worldwide for a long time, and ran rampant with the pandemic.  In the European Union it was fueled by setting the single European market.  With our commitment to join the EU, we perceived our vision for modernization and more efficient execution of payments in our country, and therefore, easier joining the European market, through the transposition of the European regulations and directives in domestic legislation, i.e. the adoption of the new Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems, as well as number (26) of bylaws for its practical implementation”, says the Vice Governor Emilija Naceva in an interview for the show Agenda 35 on MTV.

The Vice Governor points out that one of the novelties provided for by the Law is that, in addition to banks, it enables payments by other payment service providers, which will be focused on providing payment services for companies and citizens.  According to the world practice, they are mainly in the area of the fintech sector, i.e. they use the latest technological achievements to provide easier, faster and more efficient payment services to citizens and companies.  Greater competitiveness, on the other hand, will encourage banks to improve their own solutions for the execution of payments and to improve the supply on the market, which will reduce costs, as well as increase and improve the services in this field.

Referring to other benefits provided by the Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems, the Vice Governor Nacevska emphasized the consumer protection which will be achieved through transparency.  The Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems introduces an obligation for banks and payment service providers to conclude a framework agreement with the users of services, prior to which the users should be informed on the payment services fees.  The framework agreement will be prescribed in a standardized form, in a clear and concise manner, containing all information related to the users’ rights and obligations.  The payment service provider will be required to regularly submit reports on charged fees.  For the most representative, i.e. the most used payment services, the banks and other payment service providers will be required to submit data to the National Bank, which will be published on the National Bank website, on a comparison base, for each provider.   In this manner, the users of payment services receive fast and easily available information, when choosing the payment service provider.

Analyzing the benefits, the Law on Payment Services and Payment Systems also introduces the account with basic functions, which enables unlimited number of cash deposit and withdrawal transactions and payments with debit cards, as well as at least five payments to other users within the same bank and account maintenance, for a monthly fee of up to 1% of the average of the last paid 12 average salaries in the country (31 denars according to the latest data). The vulnerable categories of population are exempted from paying fee for this account.  The citizens can use the account with basic functions only within their available funds, i.e. they cannot go into overdraft, which they have a tendency of using.  Hence, in order to open an account with basic functions, citizens should regulate their liabilities to the bank, by using other credit products, and one of the options for executing payments is the use of credit cards.