The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo announced that Governor Ahmet Ismaili participated in a ceremony to sign a letter of intent for a regional instant payments project, TIPS Clone, alongside the Bank of Italy and the central banks of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. The signing took place on the sidelines of the 2025 IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings. The letter of intent continues an agreement signed in January and expands participation to include North Macedonia. With the approval of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, the Bank of Italy, as the developer and operator of the Eurosystem’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service, is building the TIPS Clone system to extend this instant payments infrastructure to selected Western Balkan jurisdictions, including Kosovo. The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo framed the project as a core infrastructure initiative aligned with its strategic plan and linked expected additional benefits to Kosovo’s prospective membership in the Single Euro Payments Area.
Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo 2025-10-16
Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo joins Western Balkan peers and the Bank of Italy in signing a letter of intent for the TIPS Clone instant payments project
Governor Ahmet Ismaili of the Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo participated in signing a letter of intent for the TIPS Clone regional instant payments project with several Western Balkan central banks. Developed by the Bank of Italy with European Central Bank approval, the project aims to extend the Eurosystem's TARGET Instant Payment Settlement service to the region. This initiative supports Kosovo's strategic plan and prospective membership in the Single Euro Payments Area.