The Bank of Albania reported that Second Deputy Governor Natasha Ahmetaj attended the Vienna Initiative Full Forum 2025 hosted by the European Commission in Brussels, where participants discussed the relevance of the Savings and Investments Union for central, eastern and south-eastern European economies and the expansion of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The release also noted that Albania has become the first Western Balkan country to join SEPA, with the first transfers within SEPA’s geographical scope set to take effect from 7 October 2025. Discussions highlighted structural constraints in the region, including low household savings rates, conservative investment approaches, heavy reliance on banks, and a cautious stance by institutional investors, alongside calls to deepen capital market integration while preserving the banking sector’s role. Participants also emphasised upgrades to payments infrastructure, the importance of effective supervision, and the mobilisation of citizens’ savings by channelling funds from deposits towards capital markets, with SEPA membership for EU candidate countries framed as economically and politically important for their European integration path. First SEPA transfers for Albania are scheduled to begin from 7 October 2025.

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