The Bank of Italy’s Governor Fabio Panetta has signed a letter of intent with central bank counterparts in the Western Balkans on the TIPS Clone initiative, formally bringing North Macedonia into the project. North Macedonia joins Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro. Under the initiative, the Bank of Italy is developing an instant payment platform based on a clone of its TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) infrastructure, which it built and now operates for the euro area. The first letter of intent was signed in January to launch the implementation phase, and the platform is expected to become operational in July 2026 and be available to the five participating Balkan countries.
Bank of Italy 2025-10-15
Bank of Italy signs letter of intent confirming North Macedonia’s participation in the TIPS Clone instant payments initiative
The Bank of Italy's Governor Fabio Panetta signed a letter of intent with central banks in the Western Balkans, integrating North Macedonia into the TIPS Clone initiative. This project aims to develop an instant payment platform based on the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement infrastructure for five Balkan countries, expected to be operational by July 2026.