Bank of Albania reviews payment reforms and expected annual SEPA savings above EUR 71 million

At the eighth international conference on regional card schemes and retail financial market infrastructures in Tirana, the Bank of Albania reviewed payment reforms, highlighting lower transfer costs and growing digital payment use. Euro transfers to countries participating in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) cost up to 20 times less than before Albania’s membership, with expected savings for the economy exceeding EUR 71 million annually. Digital payments have reached 29 per person annually, compared with five a decade earlier. In 2025, cards were used more frequently for payments than cash withdrawals for the first time. Alongside SEPA participation, the TIPS Clone project remains a priority for enabling transfers in real time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The review reiterated a joint World Bank and Bank of Albania estimate that electronic payments supported by instant payment infrastructure could generate annual savings of up to ALL 38.7 billion, equivalent to about 1.5% of gross domestic product. Wider adoption also depends on interoperability and payment acceptance costs that small businesses can afford. Operational safeguards must accompany modernization, with service continuity, data protection and fraud prevention incorporated into projects from their design stage to address cyber threats, service disruptions and dependence on technology providers.