“EU Payments Acquis and SEPA” workshop

The NBS and the World Bank organised a two-day workshop "EU Payments Acquis and SEPA" in Belgrade with the aim of strengthening the economic ties of the Republic of Serbia with the European Union and intensifying regional integration. The workshop gathered representatives of the Serbian financial sector.

The workshop was opened on behalf of the NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković by Vice Governor Željko Jović, who highlighted the results of the NBS’s work and intensive development of the payment services market, with the use of the most modern technical and technological solutions for executing payment transactions while adhering to all international standards and principles for ensuring safe and stable operation of payment systems in Serbia, which are aligned with the highest EU standards. Vice Governor Jović pointed out that this event represents an important step towards further advancement of the international payment market and provides a unique opportunity to emphasise the regional importance of Serbia in the field of development of payment services based on modern payment infrastructure that supports the provision of these services both at the national and international level.

In his speech, the Vice Governor pointed out that back in 2014, the NBS adopted a modern legal framework for the provision of payment services, which contributed to the introduction of greater competition in the market in terms of the emergence of new market players (payment institutions and electronic money institutions), greater protection of financial service consumers and accelerated digitalisation of financial services, thereby encouraging overall financial inclusion of payment service users.

Following the requirements of the modern era in setting up the payments infrastructure that supports the digitalisation of financial services, the NBS recognised the need for the establishment of a national card system. Today, we are the only one in the region to have our national payment card – the DinaCard, which, with its functionalities, such as contactless payment and cross-border payment options, meets all the needs of its users and market requirements, making it an equal competitor to large, global card brands. As a crowning achievement, the Vice Governor highlighted the establishment of the system for instant payments – the NBS IPS system, in 2018, which is based on the international ISO 20022 standard and enables fast and reliable execution of transactions in an average of only 1.1 seconds and realizes more than five million transactions per month.

The NBS IPS system remains the only instant payments system in the region to date. Serbia thus positioned itself as the regional leader, setting standards in the area of efficient and modern payment services. Serbia’s position was also recognised by the World Bank Country Manager for Serbia, Nicola Pontara, who pointed out in his opening remarks Serbia’s leading regional position in the area of payment services. 

The first day of the workshop introduced PSD2 application in Serbia. Participants underlined instant payment possibilities that are crucial for future development of Serbia’s payment system. Connection to the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) of the European Central Bank will further upgrade our infrastructure for cross-border payments, enabling our citizens and corporates to access instant payments in euros. This integration will enable faster and cheaper cross-border transactions, reducing costs and raising the efficiency of financial flows between Serbia and the European Union, as well as the Western Balkans region, which will further advance Serbia’s foreign trade.

The second day of the workshop focused on SEPA and the open banking concept, highlighting its advantages, such as reinforced security of electronic payments and consumer protection, one of the key pillars of a modern financial system. SEPA was designed with the idea to harmonise the national payment systems of European countries for retail payments (payments between households and corporates) with SEPA standards, so they could function as a single system – in other words, to ensure that payments between participants from different EU countries are caried out technically in the same way as national payments (payments within a country), i.e. equally user-friendly and at an equal or, if possible, even smaller cost.