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SEPA operations begin: A 10 euro commission will be paid to transfer 100 thousand euros

2025-10-07 10:03:48Biznes SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

Starting today, October 7, Albanian banks will begin offering transfers in the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). Enabling transfers in SEPA is expected to bring a significant reduction in international transfer fees for the Albanian public.

According to the regulation approved by the Bank of Albania in September, the maximum levels foreseen for domestic transfer commissions will also be valid for international transfers via SEPA.

The Regulation "On fees for cross-border payments in the SEPA area and transparency conditions" provides that the fees applied by Payment Service Operators (banks or non-bank financial institutions for payments and electronic money) for outgoing SEPA payments cannot exceed the limits set by the Bank of Albania for the corresponding values ??of domestic payments in Euro that are processed through its systems and are defined in the regulatory framework of these systems.

As with transfers in Lek, the regulation for transfers in Euro will also stimulate the use of electronic channels for making transfers, by providing for halved commissions for operations carried out through these channels.

The minimum commission that banks can apply for national transfers in European currency, carried out through e-banking, cannot be higher than 2 euros.

While the total commissions for each transfer worth up to 100 thousand euros, carried out through e-banking, cannot be higher than 0.01% of the transferred value. In other words, for the maximum amount of this ceiling, 100 thousand euros, the commission for electronic payments will be a maximum of 10 euros.

Meanwhile, the total commissions for each transfer worth up to 100 thousand euros, carried out at the branch (in paper form) cannot be higher than 0.02% of the transferred value.

Under the previous regulation, the maximum commission was 10 times higher, at 0.2%.

Also, this maximum commission was mandatory only for lower value transfers, up to 10 thousand euros; for payments greater than 10 thousand euros, there was no ceiling for the percentage commission, but only a maximum commission in value, regardless of the amount transferred.

The maximum commissions that banks can apply (for transfers over 100 thousand euros), regardless of the amount of the transfer, will be the same as in the previous regulation, namely 50 euros for transfers made at branches and 25 euros for those initiated through electronic channels.

Meanwhile, for incoming transfers (from abroad to Albania) banks may apply a maximum commission of up to 3 euros, to cover the costs of providing the service.

Albania was officially accepted as a member of the SEPA area by the European Payments Council on November 21, 2024.

SEPA membership is expected to bring great convenience in making international payments at lower costs and in a faster time. The banking sector in Albania executed international transfers through foreign correspondent banks. Such a solution brought high commissions and relatively long time for making transfers.

According to analyses conducted by the World Bank, a payment from Albania to the SEPA area cost almost 10 times more than a payment within the SEPA area.

Transfers required several business days, while with SEPA membership it is expected that the money will be transferred to the beneficiary's account within one business day at most.

Facilitating cross-border payments with Albania's main trading partner, the European Union, is expected to facilitate further expansion of trade relations. Albanian businesses will have access to a large market with opportunities for expanding services and products and increasing competitiveness.

Participation in SEPA is expected to make a significant contribution to strategic sectors such as tourism and to the increase in flows related to foreign direct investment. The reduction in transfer costs in Euro is also expected to affect the formalization of remittance flows.

The Bank of Albania's projections are that in the medium term, the Albanian economy will benefit several hundred million euros from SEPA accession.

SEPA is an early European Union initiative to harmonize electronic payments in Euro between member states. SEPA Payment Schemes provide European citizens and businesses with cross-border payments in the common currency, at the same cost and convenience as payments within their own country. However, the SEPA geographical area extends beyond the EU countries, with 36 countries now having harmonized standards for electronic payments in Euro./Monitor.al/


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