Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo sets out payments digitalisation reforms and cautious crypto approach at Bank of Albania centenary conference

The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo reported that Governor Ahmet Ismaili spoke at the Bank of Albania’s 100th anniversary international conference in Tirana, participating in a panel on stable digital currencies, monetary independence and the future of money. His remarks focused on how Kosovo is updating its payments infrastructure and regulatory framework to manage risks and support digital financial services. Ismaili pointed to reforms including the digitalisation of the payments infrastructure, expanding access to finance, implementation of the basic account, and initiatives to include non-bank institutions as participants in the national payments system. He also referenced alignment with the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), implementation of a fast payments project (TIPS Clone), standardisation of QR codes, and other developments under the Central Bank’s strategic plan, alongside priorities on financial education, internal capacity building, infrastructure expansion, and managing risks linked to digitalisation, monetary sovereignty, financial stability and cyber security. The speech also highlighted a new regulatory framework covering operational readiness and resilience, oversight of systems and cyber security, and third-party outsourcing, supported by new organisational units focused on supervision. On cryptoassets, the Central Bank described a gradual and cautious approach aligned with international standards and developed in close cooperation with the International Monetary Fund. For central bank digital currency, it is monitoring European Central Bank work on the digital euro with the aim of participating in later phases, while analysing potential effects on the financial market, citizens’ behaviour and the structure of the payments system.