Yesterday, in Palazzo Koch in Rome, a ceremony was held for signing a Letter of Intent to launch a project to establish an instant payment system in the Western Balkans. The event was attended by the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, along with the governors and deputy governors of the central banks of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Montenegro, according to a statement from the Central Bank of BiH (CBBiH).
The cooperation agreement stipulates that the Bank of Italy will deliver an instant payment system based on a replica of the TIPS service, which is a European platform for real-time payment settlement designed, developed, and managed by the Bank of Italy on behalf of the Eurosystem. Albania, BiH, Kosovo, and Montenegro have joined the initiative, which has been approved by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (North Macedonia retains the right to join later).
The new platform, which will be operational within 18 months from its establishment – scheduled in the coming weeks – will enable payments in all currencies of the participating countries. Additional functionalities will be developed after the initial implementation phase. Furthermore, by utilizing an advanced and cost-effective technological solution, it will establish a bilateral link for payment settlement between the area served by TIPS and the Western Balkans region.
The signing of the Letter of Intent is an important step toward integrating the Western Balkan countries into the financial system of the European Union (EU), stated the CBBiH.
