The National Bank of Serbia reported continued growth in the use of its instant payments system, IPS NBS, by households and businesses in the first quarter of 2026. The system processed 31.9 million instant payments, up 30.8 percent from a year earlier and 2.6 times the level recorded five years ago. The value of those payments reached RSD 392.8 billion, an increase of 33.3 percent year on year and 3.6 times the level in the first quarter of 2022. Average transaction size in the quarter was RSD 12,320, while the average daily number of payments was 354,226, more than 83,000 above the same quarter of 2025. The central bank linked the increase to wider use of IPS NBS payments at physical and online merchants, including retail, fuel, bookstores, electronics and pharmacy chains, as well as on the Ananas.rs e-commerce platform. Instant payments are also available on the eGovernment ePlati portal for fees and charges related to services provided by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Tax Administration through scanning an NBS IPS QR code. The bank also highlighted the "Prenesi" service, which enables account-to-account transfers using a recipient's phone number if that number has been registered with the recipient's bank.
National Bank of Serbia2026-06-24
National Bank of Serbia reports 30.8 percent rise in first quarter instant payments to 31.9 million transactions
The National Bank of Serbia said its IPS NBS instant payments system processed 31.9 million payments in the first quarter of 2026, up 30.8 percent from a year earlier. Payment value rose 33.3 percent to RSD 392.8 billion, with average daily volumes reaching 354,226. Growth was supported by broader acceptance at merchants, e-commerce and the eGovernment ePlati portal, alongside the "Prenesi" phone-number-based transfer service.