Transferring an amount of 1,000 euros to or from Albania used to incur a commission ranging from 10–15 euros up to 40 euros. Now that Albania is among the most recent countries to join SEPA payments, an initiative of the European Union that standardizes cross-border payments, ensuring the same rules, standards, and costs across 41 SEPA members, the fee for a transfer of this amount is no more than 2 euros. Through the Single Euro Payments Area, Albanian citizens can now send and receive payments in euros under the same conditions as citizens of EU countries, in terms of fees, processing times, and security standards.
“The use of traditional channels through correspondent banks for cross-border payments with EU countries was costly and time-consuming. It involved several actors in the process of sending payments and consequently multiple, and often high, intermediary commissions. Due to the participation of several links, the processing time for a payment could take up to three or four days, and if weekends were included, even longer. Tracking payments also became more difficult, depending on the territories where banks were located and the legislation regulating their payment activities,” explains Ledia Bregu, Director of the Payment Systems, Accounting and Finance Department at the Bank of Albania.
The European Union has played a crucial role in supporting Albania’s integration into SEPA. The European Commission enabled Western Balkan EU candidate countries to apply for SEPA membership and included Albania’s accession as a key pillar of its Growth Plan for the region. This elevated SEPA to a national priority, prompting swift coordination among Albanian institutions. The Bank of Albania, which had already been aligning its payment legislation with EU standards, submitted its application in June 2024 and received approval in November. Throughout the process, the European Commission and the EU Delegation to Albania, has accompanied Albania, in this process, and provided continuous technical support and funding, including through the World Bank–led Modernisation of Payments in the Western Balkans project.
With SEPA payments, the same rules apply to both the sending and receiving banks across 41 European countries. In addition to significantly lower fees for both parties, transfers are executed by the next business day at the latest. In many cases, payments are completed on the same day, especially if initiated early. This processing standard is a core rule of the SEPA scheme and is uniformly applied by all member banks, regardless of their location. Prior to SEPA integration, incoming euro transfers were subject to substantial charges, typically starting at €10 and reaching as high as €50–100.
“We have set a ceiling for fees on incoming payments. Fees for these payments cannot exceed 3 euros, regardless of the payment amount,” says Bregu. “The Bank of Albania has revised the commission ceilings for SEPA payments, aligning them with the fees applied to domestic euro transfers. They were further reduced following the operational launch of SEPA transfers. Specifically: for payments up to €20,000, the fee is no higher than €2; for payments between €20,000 and €100,000, the fee does not exceed 0.01% of the transaction value; for payments over €100,000, the fee is capped at €25. Fees for incoming payments are also regulated and cannot exceed €3, regardless of the amount. Overall, payment costs are now nearly ten times lower than before.”
The adoption of SEPA schemes is projected to generate savings of around €20 million for businesses and consumers within the first year, benefiting every commercial enterprise and every citizen with financial commitments abroad, such as students, migrant workers, families receiving remittances, or individuals making international purchases and transactions. This results in reduced costs, faster services, and greater financial inclusion, especially considering that the majority of remittances to Albanian families (around 80%) come from EU countries and the United Kingdom, which is also part of SEPA.
According to Mrs Bregu, the Director at Bank of Albania, the speed of bank transfers and reduced commission fees are not the only advantages of SEPA. The scheme also promotes the establishment of an efficient and reliable payment system for small countries like Albania and improves the country’s image internationally.
SEPA integration fosters the expansion of trade relations with the European Union and provides Albanian businesses, particularly exporters, tourism operators, and small and medium-sized enterprises, with equal access to the European payments market. This alignment brings significant improvements in liquidity, enhances the predictability of cash flows, and strengthens overall financial stability. Moreover, it helps reduce informality in financial transactions and has prepared Albanian banks for the next phase of the country’s integration into the European Union.
