The Bank of Italy has signed a Letter of Intent to launch a project to create an instant payment system in the Western Balkans, with the Bank of Italy supplying a platform based on a clone of the Eurosystem’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service. Central banks from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro participated in the signing ceremony, with Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro joining the initiative and North Macedonia reserving the right to join later. Approved by the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, the project envisages the new platform becoming operational within 18 months from the start of work, which is scheduled to begin in the next few weeks. The system is intended to enable real-time payments in all currencies of participating countries, develop additional functionalities after the initial implementation phase, and establish a bilateral settlement link between the TIPS area and the Western Balkan area using a technologically advanced, low-cost solution. The Bank of Italy framed the Letter of Intent as a step towards integrating the Western Balkan countries with the European Union financial system.
Bank of Italy 2025-01-10
Bank of Italy signs cooperation agreement to supply a TIPS-clone instant payments platform for the Western Balkans
The Bank of Italy signed a Letter of Intent to develop an instant payment system in the Western Balkans using the Eurosystem’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service. Central banks from Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, and Montenegro are participating, with North Macedonia considering joining later. Approved by the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, the project aims to operationalize within 18 months, facilitating real-time payments and integration with the EU financial system.