Central Bank of Montenegro outlines SEPA transaction start by October 2025 and TIPS Clone instant payments launch in July 2026

The Central Bank of Montenegro reported on Governor Irena Radovic’s participation in the Economic and Financial Dialogue with the European Union in Brussels, where she set out the central bank’s payments modernisation and regulatory reform agenda as part of Montenegro’s EU convergence efforts. The update focused on operational milestones following Montenegro’s entry into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) and preparations to introduce instant payments via a European TIPS Clone. Montenegro joined SEPA in November 2024, and the central bank is preparing banks to begin the first SEPA transactions by October 2025. Online clearing under the ISO 20022 standard is scheduled to start on 19 May, while a national instant payment system using the European TIPS Clone is planned for launch in July 2026. The central bank’s internal assessment estimates SEPA and instant payments could deliver annual benefits of around EUR 160 million, or 2.3% of GDP, and could reduce the income gap with the EU by 11 percentage points, increasing income per capita by an additional EUR 2,538 over ten years from implementing SEPA and TIPS. The Brussels programme also included meetings with European Parliament and European Commission counterparts, where discussions covered regulatory harmonisation, institutional transformation and preparations for eventual European System of Central Banks membership, alongside continued technical cooperation.