Skopje, 24 November 2024 

Vice Governor Emilija Nacevska took part in the meeting of the Vice Governors from the Western Balkans, dedicated to the accession process to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which was held in Budapest at the invitation of the Hungarian National Bank. The senior representatives of the central banks of the region had the opportunity to get acquainted with the Hungarian experience in the SEPA accession process, as well as with the Hungarian financial infrastructure as a possible model for integration into SEPA. The meeting emphasized the importance of timely operational and technical preparation of payment service providers from the Western Balkan countries for rapid integration into SEPA payment schemes (payment systems). In this context, the readiness of the Hungarian National Bank, within the current presidency of Hungary at the Council of the European Union, was emphasized, to assist in the cooperation with the European Central Bank in order to provide payment service providers from the Western Balkan countries with easier access to the European payment infrastructure.

The Vice Governors of the central banks of the region emphasized that they are working on the harmonization of the legal framework with the European legislation and expressed their expectation for the successful completion of the formal process for accession to SEPA. Moreover, three central banks of the region, including ours, have officially submitted applications for SEPA membership to the European Payments Council, while the remaining countries are in the process of preparing their applications. In expectation of a positive evaluation of the submitted applications for SEPA membership, the Vice Governors emphasized the need for continuation of the good cooperation between the central banks of the region, as well as with the institutions of the European Union, for the efficient preparation of payment service providers in the next period to meet the requirements for operational accession to SEPA, once the formal process of evaluation of the applications will be completed.

The membership in SEPA will bring numerous benefits to citizens, companies and the entire economy. By joining the SEPA payment systems, payment service providers will offer cheaper and faster execution of euro payments, which will enable greater financial integration between the countries of the region, as well as with other SEPA countries. Also, the SEPA membership would reduce grey economy by 2 percentage points in the region of the Western Balkans, according to the World Bank estimates. 

In addition to the Vice Governor Nacevska, the Macedonian delegation also included Igor Velichkovski, Manager of the Sector of Financial Market Operations and Payment Systems. The meeting was also attended by the Vice Governors with their teams from Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo.