The Central Bank of the Republic of Kosovo published an update on its Strategic Plan 2024–2028 objective on access to finance, describing how its regulatory actions and planned measures have both strengthened financial-system integrity and expanded access to licensed financial services and digital payment options across the country, with a specific focus on municipalities inhabited by minority communities. In 2024, the number of offices of licensed financial institutions increased by 40 compared with 2023. Since 1 January 2024, around 430,000 EUR 500 banknotes (EUR 215 million) have been withdrawn from circulation, alongside other actions to combat counterfeit currency and support legal compliance by financial institutions. In the four northern municipalities, the network expanded sharply, with total offices rising from 17 (as of August 2023) to 46, and bank offices increasing from four (including two at border points) to 12, covering both domestic and international banks. Use of the Kosovo Interbank Payment System (KIPS) continued to increase in 2024, with transaction volumes up by 1.8 million (9.5%) and values up by around EUR 3.6 billion (16.3%), reaching around 21 million transactions worth about EUR 25.4 billion. Payment access points also grew, with ATMs up 8.4% and POS terminals up 21.4% year on year. By end-2024, customer accounts totalled 2.6 million (+2.4%), including 79,706 e-money accounts (+74.6%); payment cards reached around 1.7 million (+4.4%), with card transactions rising to around 43 million in 2024 (+33.8%), and e-money payment transactions reaching around 2.2 million (+35%). The central bank indicated it will continue advancing the legal, regulatory and technical infrastructure to broaden access to finance, strengthen consumer protection and support a shift away from cash towards greater use of electronic payment instruments.

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