In its final stage of integration into the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) payment scheme, Albania will officially launch SEPA euro payments on Oct. 7, 2025.
At the Ambassadors’ Conference, Bank of Albania Governor Gent Sejko announced that Albania will officially enable euro transactions within the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) starting on October 7, 2025.
Along with Montenegro, Albania was officially accepted into SEPA in November 2024, marking a significant step toward greater financial integration and transparency.
Over the past decade, Albania’s payment system has seen major modernization driven by the implementation of EU’s Payment Services Directive 2 (PSD2), the growth of digital services, and the entry of new fintech players. These developments increased competition, improved efficiency, and expanded consumer access to modern payment solutions.
Under the guidance of the Bank of Albania (BoA), state institutions have met all legal and regulatory requirements for SEPA entry. Therefore, local banks are already approved by the European Payments Council to operate in the standardized euro transfer system starting next year.
SEPA currently covers 41 countries, including all EU member states, plus several non-EU ones like Nordic nations and the UK. Albania and Montenegro were the first group of Western Balkan countries to join the SEPA geographical scope.
SEPA ensures faster euro transfers across credit transfers, direct debits, and card payments, uniform standards, and lower costs compared to traditional, fragmented payment systems. For consumers and businesses, the practical meaning of SEPA is that you can pay or get paid anywhere in Europe using a single bank account and a unified payment standard.
We have earlier spoken with Christian Caumont, CEO of Yowpay, about the present and future of real-time SEPA payments, the role of open banking in European e-commerce, and more.
