The National Bank of Serbia published payment system statistics for the third quarter of 2025 showing continued growth in the use of distance contracting for financial services, with 122,235 contracts concluded remotely, up 43.9% from 84,961 in the same period of 2024. Video identification for first-time contracting was used for 34,382 contracts, a 107.2% increase year on year, representing 28.1% of all distance contracts (up 8.6 percentage points). Non-bank payment service providers may also offer distance contracting where they have met conditions for implementing video identification, and accounted for 627 contracts, or 1.8% of all video-identified contracts. The remaining 87,853 contracts (71.9%) were concluded through a second electronic method for users with an existing relationship, up 28.5% from the same quarter of 2024. Across bank payment service providers’ product types, remote contracting increased for payment account openings (29,623 vs 13,857), other services (12,669 vs 6,950), cash loans (48,608 vs 35,593), overdrafts (19,981 vs 17,863) and demand or term savings (10,727 vs 10,698).
National Bank of Serbia 2026-01-09
National Bank of Serbia reports 122,235 distance-contracted payment service contracts in Q3 2025 up 43.9% year on year
The National Bank of Serbia reported a 43.9% year-on-year increase in distance contracting for financial services in Q3 2025, with 122,235 contracts concluded remotely. Video identification for first-time contracting surged by 107.2%, accounting for 28.1% of all distance contracts, while non-bank providers contributed 1.8% of video-identified contracts.