The Council of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia adopted its 2024 Annual Report and the 2024 Banking System Risk Report, and approved further changes to the regulatory framework for cross-border payments to support the country’s participation in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The amendments remove remaining mandatory documentation requirements for incoming and outgoing foreign payments and require funds received from abroad to be credited to households’ and companies’ payment accounts immediately, and at the latest the next business day.

The central bank linked the changes to North Macedonia’s admission as the 39th SEPA member on 6 March 2025, noting that documentation and delayed availability will remain only for a small number of payments that are subject to legal restrictions until EU accession. The Annual Report records average inflation slowing to 3.5% in 2024 from 9.4% the prior year and GDP growth of 2.8%, alongside a gradual normalisation of monetary policy including three cuts in the policy rate to 5.35% and more moderate reductions in deposit rates; reserve requirement measures were also used to support denarisation and longer-term saving. The Risk Report describes the banking system as stable, with stronger deposit and credit growth, improved liquidity and solvency, and a capital adequacy ratio of 18.9% at end-2024, while flagging the need for continued monitoring of risks given geopolitical uncertainty and potential external shocks.

The cross-border payments amendments are set to apply from 5 October 2025, when payment service providers will be able to connect to SEPA payment systems for the first time.

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