The National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia announced that it will co-organise, for the 16th time with the Central Bank of the Netherlands, the Payments and Market Infrastructure Conference titled “Interconnecting payments for the digital era”, to be held in Ohrid on 28–29 October. The conference will bring together representatives from central banks, commercial banks, non-bank payment service providers, fintech firms, international financial institutions and European Union bodies. A central focus will be the future of payments following North Macedonia’s integration into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), alongside Albania, Montenegro and Moldova, including a panel on benefits for citizens and companies and implications for regional integration ahead of EU accession. The agenda also covers the rollout of instant payments, including regulatory and infrastructure needs and Western Balkans work on an instant payments system based on the European Central Bank’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) standards, as well as the role of new market participants in reshaping competition and payment service quality; the event will be held in English and livestreamed on the National Bank’s YouTube channel.