The Bank of Albania reported the signing of a Letter of Intent with the Bank of Italy and regional central banks to launch a project creating an instant payment system for the Western Balkans. The cooperation agreement foresees the Bank of Italy supplying an instant payments platform based on a clone of TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS), the Eurosystem’s real-time payments settlement service, with the initiative approved by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank. Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro have joined the initiative, while North Macedonia reserved the right to join at a later stage. The platform is expected to become operational within 18 months of work starting, which is scheduled for the next few weeks, and will enable payments in all currencies of the participating countries. The project also plans a bilateral link for settling payments between the TIPS area and the Western Balkans area, with additional functionalities to be developed after the initial implementation phase.
Bank of Albania 2025-01-10
Bank of Albania signs letter of intent to build a Western Balkans instant payments platform using a TIPS clone
The Bank of Albania announced a Letter of Intent with the Bank of Italy and regional central banks to develop an instant payment system for the Western Balkans, using a clone of TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS). Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Montenegro are participating, with North Macedonia potentially joining later. Approved by the European Central Bank's Governing Council, the platform aims to be operational within 18 months, facilitating payments in all currencies of the involved countries.