Roll-out of instant payment settlement service in Western Balkans

17 January 2025

Central banks from countries in the Western Balkans and the Banca d’Italia have signed an agreement calling for the Banca d’Italia, in its role as service provider for the Eurosystem’s TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) service, to supply an instant payment system based on TIPS software for the Western Balkan region.

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Montenegro will participate in the initiative, with North Macedonia potentially joining at a later stage. The platform is expected to be in operation by mid-2026 and transactions will be settled in all participating countries’ currencies.

By using this platform for instant payments, Western Balkan countries will also be taking an important step towards further integration into the European Union’s financial system.

The initiative is based on the TIPS service offered by the Eurosystem. TIPS settles instant payments in central bank money around the clock, every day of the year. Banks and payment service providers can join TIPS in one of two ways: (i) as a participant, by opening a TIPS account; or (ii) as a reachable party, by entering into a contractual agreement with a participant. TIPS currently settles in euro and Swedish krona and, as of April 2025, will also settle in Danish krone.